WESTFIELD – The Planning Board voted last night to approve two special permits requested by businesses, one for a sign at a new dental practice and the other to allow a dog grooming facility on Church Street.
Dr. Kevin Coughlin, a partner of the Baystate Dental group, requested a special permit to erect a sign at 29 Broad Street where Baystate Dental PC recently completed renovation of building where it is locating a new practice in the city.
Coughlin said the sign will not have dedicated lighting, such as spotlights, buy may be illuminated indirectly by ground light along the perimeter of the property or by lights illuminating the U.S. flag if it is flown at night.
Coughlin said the 3-by-6-foot sign will be about six feet high when mounted on the two support posts. The dental group plans to have an open house on Wednesday, Oct. 16 and open the following day.
“We’re pleased to be joining the community,” Coughlin said.
The Planning Board approved a number of findings and conditions which are part of the special permit allowing the erection of the sign.
The second special permit was requested by Germaine Ruffo who has been in the dog grooming business at a location on Meadow Street for the past 11 years and petitioned the board for the special permit to allow her to move that business to 22 Church St., a location that was formerly a hair-dressing business.
“I want to locate to a smaller, less expensive place,” Ruffo said.
Board Chairman Philip McEwan noted that “you are not the first dog grooming facility in the city, but you are the first to apply for a special permit.”
City Planner Jay Vinskey said the board had to be flexible in its review of the special permit petition because the “zoning (code) is not clear on dog grooming” and that the board needed to draw inference from other zoning regulations to make its decision.
Board member Peter Fiordalice asked Ruffo if she planned to kennel dogs overnight. Ruffo responded that her clients dropped dogs off to be groomed and then returned later that day to pick up their pets.
Board members also questioned Ruffo on modifications she might make to the building. Ruffo said she planned to install a new awning and paint the business section of the building, which also has a residential area, to make it look better.
The board also asked about Ruffo’s hours of operation. The board typically includes limits of hours of operation as a condition of the special permit.
Ruffo said that her hours of operation on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and that on Tuesday and Thursday she opens at noon and closes her shop at 8 p.m.
The board voted to attach a condition allowing Ruffo to be open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
“I don’t have to work all of those hours, do I?” Ruffo asked.
McEwan explained that she is can work any hours within that time frame as part of the special permit.
