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Dog and cat hospital wins approval for its expansion
By Gloria I. Wang
Those furry ones in the community who are clients of the Los Gatos Dog and Cat Hospital will soon have something to look forward to: The hospital recently received town approval to almost double its size, which owner and veterinarian Kyle Frandle says will improve the level of service to its existing patrons.
Frandle was granted his request to add nearly 2,700 square feet onto the existing 3,000-square-foot, one-story building on Shelburne Way. Frandle aims to add one surgery suite to the one already there, add exam rooms, expand the waiting area and increase the number of cages for patients.
At the same time, Frandle is not trying to expand operations or add to the clientele or staff. "This is not a project so that we can hire seven more veterinarians," Frandle said at the Feb. 13 Los Gatos Planning Commission meeting. Instead, Frandle needs the extra space because the 29 existing cages are insufficient; Frandle said he must reschedule patients or turn them away because of lack of space.
According to a town staff report, the expansion would generate 98 more vehicle trips per day. Frandle said, however, that the figure was based on data for doctors' and dentists' offices. The number would be radically different for a veterinarian, especially since Frandle is not expanding his services.
Frandle pointed out that a carpenters' union had used the building before he took over in 1989. That union, Frandle said, had generated approximately 700 visits per week--radically different from the volume of traffic from the dog and cat hospital.
Jim Zanardi owns one of the houses across the street and asked the planning commission to approve the project. The tenants of his house, Zanardi said, had never complained about the hospital--though they had complained about the carpenters' union--and had never heard any dogs barking or seen dog droppings on the sidewalks.
"It's cleaner than the parks," Zanardi said. "I give it my blessing. I think it's a great project."
The four commissioners who attended the meeting unanimously voted to approve Frandle's architecture and site application and modify his existing conditional-use permit for the additional square footage.
The conditional-use permit does not allow for the boarding of animals; Frandle keeps pets overnight after surgery or for medical purposes. Frandle said the number of animals spending the night varies radically from evening to evening, based on the patients' medical conditions.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
