Zoning board paves way for construction of animal hospital.
By: Bill Greenwood
MONROE Local animal lovers whose pets fall ill may not have to take them out of town for treatment much longer.
That’s because the Zoning Board of Adjustment has paved the way for the construction of Monroe Animal Hospital LLC, which would be the town’s first veterinary hospital. The board granted preliminary and final site plan approval as well as use and bulk variances for the hospital at its July 31 meeting.
The application for the project filed by Dana Lynn Bernstein LLC, of Lincoln Park calls for an existing 1.5-story, 1,793-square-foot house to be converted into a 2,632-square-foot hospital through two additions, one 738 square feet and the other 101 square feet. It would be located on a 0.689-acre parcel on prospect Plains Road.
The application also includes a driveway to the east of the existing building, a parking lot with nine spaces and sidewalks linking the parking lot to the building.
The board decided to approve the project because the hospital would provide a "desirable" service to the town, according to its resolution granting approval. The resolution also states that traffic concerns brought forth July 31 by Kelly Court residents are "overstated because of the limited number of patients to be seen each day" and that the benefits of the project outweigh its negative aspects.
The hospital, which would serve only household pets, would treat 15 to 20 patients each day, according to the resolution. It would be open from 8 a.m. to no later than 8 p.m.
A use variance was required for the project because the parcel is zoned for Light Industrial (LI) use. However, the board decided to grant the variance because the parcel’s small size makes it unlikely to be used under LI standards, according to the resolution.
Dana Lynn Bernstein, LLC also needed new bulk variances for minimum lot area and minimum lot depth as well as pre-existing variances for minimum lot frontage, minimum lot width and minimum required area for the front and back yards, according to the application.
The Planning Department could not say whether the variances had been granted. However, Township Engineer Ernie Feist said the project does not need to come before the board again.
Attorney Walter Toto, who is representing Dana Lynn Bernstein LLC, said local approvals for the project are still required, including a water and sewer approval from the Monroe Township Utilities Authority.
Dana Hornstein, who owns Dana Lynn Bernstein LLC, said in an e-mail that the company still is working on purchasing the land for the project. She said the transaction should be completed by the end of September, shortly after which construction could begin.shortly after.

