Second Ward Residents Prepare Strategy to Thwart Doggie Hotel

They insisted that they are dog lovers. Some of them proudly said they are dog owners.

However, residents of Ocean City’s Second Ward made it clear at a community meeting Saturday that they are strongly opposed to attempts to open what would be the town’s first doggie hotel and daycare center in one of their neighborhoods.

During the meeting organized by Second Ward Councilman Keith Hartzell, about 30 residents and business owners voted unanimously to take preemptive action to try to block a doggie hotel and daycare center from coming to Ocean City.

They authorized Hartzell to ask his fellow members of City Council to repeal an ordinance approved in January that has opened the door to the possibility of a doggie hotel and daycare center opening in Ocean City if the owner can first secure a zoning variance.

Following Council’s approval of the ordinance, a developer appeared at the March 20 zoning board meeting to seek approval for a variance to open a dog hotel and daycare business in a commercial building at 204 Seventh Street in downtown Ocean City.

That part of Seventh Street is zoned for commercial use, but it falls within a section of the Second Ward that includes a mix of homes, businesses and at least one church. Homeowners and business owners who are within a block or two of the proposed doggie hotel site took part in Saturday's meeting with Hartzell.

Culminating a lengthy hearing on March 20 that elicited impassioned comments from both opponents and supporters of the project, the zoning board fell one vote short of granting the use variance for the dog hotel.

The vote was 4-3 in favor of the project, but five affirmative votes – a so-called “super-majority” – were needed for the use variance.

Opponents of the project, including residents and business owners in the area of Seventh Street, pleaded with the zoning board not to approve the doggie hotel. They expressed concerns about excessive noise from barking, odor problems and the possibility of neighbors’ lawns being fouled by dog excrement.

There were also members of the public who turned out in support of the project. They said a doggie hotel is badly needed in Ocean City and would be another attraction to help draw tourists to town, especially the ones who have trouble finding pet-friendly vacation accommodations.

    This commercial building at 204 Seventh Street would have been renovated for the doggie hotel and daycare center if the project had received approval from the zoning board.
  

In the aftermath of the zoning board vote, developer Jake Gallagher, who sought to open the doggie hotel, has put the two-story building at 204 Seventh Street up for sale for $879,900.

Residents of the Second Ward, though, said during Saturday’s meeting that they are worried Gallagher may appeal the zoning board vote in hopes of resurrecting his project. They also said that Gallagher could possibly sell the building to another person interested in converting it to a dog hotel and daycare center.

Kristina Doliszny, of the Ocean City Real Estate Group, maintained that a dog hotel would hurt investment in the Seventh Street area by lowering the value of surrounding homes and businesses.

“Who in their right mind is going to buy a property right next to a dog kennel?” Doliszny said.

As originally proposed, Gallagher’s project would have included 31 indoor dog kennels, interior dog runs and an outdoor synthetic turf area approximately 400 square feet in size.

Altogether, there were plans to handle 30 dogs per night at the hotel and 20 more at the daycare center, for a maximum of 50 dogs in the building at any given time.

But Gallagher made two major concessions during the zoning board meeting in hopes of quelling opposition to the project. He said he would eliminate the outdoor play area for dogs to cut down on the noise from barking. He also said he would reduce the number of dogs allowed in the hotel from 30 to 25 per night.

Still, the project did not win enough votes from the zoning board for the variance.

    Doggie hotel developer Jake Gallagher, right, speaks with audience members after the March 20 zoning board hearing.
  

Hartzell and some of the Second Ward residents repeatedly said during the meeting Saturday that they love dogs and should not be seen as “anti-dog” just because they oppose the possibility of a doggie hotel and daycare center coming to Seventh Street.

According to Hartzell, a dog hotel would simply not be a good fit for the neighborhood.

“As a neighborhood, you just think it’s wrong,” he said.

Hartzell and Jody Levchuk were the only Council members who voted against the new ordinance that would allow dog hotels and daycare centers to open in Ocean City if the owner could first secure a zoning variance.

Both Hartzell and Levchuk expressed concern that the ordinance would provide a legal pathway for dog breeding or puppy mills in town. City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson told Hartzell and Levchuk that the ordinance would not allow dog breeding or puppy mills.

Now, Hartzell said he is prepared to go back to Council to try to garner enough votes to repeal the ordinance. He acknowledged that it may be a tough fight.

“Whether or not I can muster the votes to get it repealed, I don’t know. I’ll try my best,” he told the Second Ward residents at Saturday’s meeting.

At the same time, Hartzell said it would be important to have the Second Ward’s enthusiastic backing if he asks Council to repeal the ordinance. He urged the Second Ward residents to organize a group, including having a spokesperson to appear before Council to lobby for the ordinance’s repeal.

The approximately 30 people attending the meeting at Shiloh Baptist Church then unanimously raised their hands in a show of support for Hartzell. They also agreed to have resident Colette Bellefleur and Coastal Construction owner Phil Gieseler serve as the Second Ward’s spokespersons.

    Tom Heist, owner of Heist Insurance, wants the Second Ward residents to pack the City Council meetings to try to overturn a local ordinance that opens the door to doggie hotel and daycare center projects.
  

Tom Heist, who owns Heist Insurance at 700 West Avenue, wants the Second Ward residents to show up in force during the Council meetings to demonstrate their strong opposition to the ordinance.

“Being in the room sends a message that we want this flipped,” Heist said.

Heist, whose business is located next to the proposed doggie hotel site, was one of the opponents who spoke out against the project during the March 20 zoning board meeting. He maintained that a dog hotel would be too disruptive to his business and the surrounding neighborhood.

At Saturday’s meeting, Heist warned of the possibility that the doggie hotel and daycare center project might be revived if Council does not repeal the ordinance.

“If we don’t win on flipping this, it is going to come back,” he said.