Lakewood Planning Commission Meeting – November 6, 2025
Lakewood Planning Commission Meeting – November 6, 2025
The Lakewood Planning Commission convened on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Hall Auditorium. The meeting included approval of prior minutes, opening remarks, and deliberation on one conditional use application for a dog grooming business. The commission voted unanimously to approve the application with conditions tied to a forthcoming code amendment.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes Approval: The minutes from the October 2, 2025, meeting were approved by unanimous voice vote (motion by Nicholas LePoint, seconded; all ayes, no nays).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made during the meeting.
Discussion Items
- Conditional Use – Docket No. 11-33-25 (1384 Bonnieview Ave., The Velvet Tail): Applicant Mariah Murphy (3654 W. 148th St., Cleveland) requested a conditional use permit to operate a dog grooming business in the C-2 Commercial, Retail district. Murphy testified she has groomed dogs in Lakewood for 11 years, currently works at Petch General Store in Madison, and plans to operate with her daughter only. She described a one-on-one, appointment-only model with no boarding, typical hours Tuesday through Saturday (daytime), and a capacity of 6–10 dogs per day (herself) and up to 5 per day (her daughter). The landlord supports the use. City Planning Staff (Michelle Nochta) noted that the proposed use meets general conditional use standards but that existing code provisions (e.g., off-street parking requirements, prohibition of grooming in structures with residential uses) are inconsistent with modern practice and a city code amendment is being prepared to rectify them. The site had housed grooming businesses previously (The Doghouse in 1990 and another in 2003) without issues. Staff recommended approval with two conditions.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to Approve (Conditional Use): Commissioner Nicholas LePoint moved to approve the conditional use permit with two conditions:
- The building department shall determine that adequate ventilation, odor, and noise control measures are in place.
- A forthcoming code amendment (to be considered by City Council and return to the Commission) addressing the arbitrary and inconsistent code sections must be enacted. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously by voice vote (all ayes).
- Next Steps: The applicant may proceed upon meeting the building department conditions and the anticipated code amendment. The meeting adjourned at 6:16 p.m.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. Call to order. The regular meeting of the City of Liquid Planning Commission being November the 6th, 2025. Can we have roll call, please? Hannah Gall. Nicholas LePoint. Present. Sean McDermott. Here. Kyle Reese. William Sanderson. Here. Thank you. Before you we have minutes prepared from the October 2nd 2025 meeting. Hopefully you've all had the opportunity to review. Thanks again to the administration and staff for the thorough preparation. Any questions, comments, suggested revisions, etc. Mr. Chair. Mr. LePoint. I'll make a motion for approval. We have a first. Is there a second? First and second. Any discussion? Hearing none, I'll signify approval by stating aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you very much. Ms. Nakta, uh opening remarks, please. Good evening and welcome to the Lakewood Planning Commission meeting. The commission is comprised of five members charged with evaluating proposals as required by Lakewood zoning code and community vision. The charter of the city establish the authority of the commission and its members are volunteer Lakewood residents appointed to five year terms by the mayor or city council. Tonight the commission shall hear from each applicant on their respective docket item. The commission may also take public comment for each docket item, and public comment shall only address that specific docket item being considered. To allow adequate time for all present, public comment is limited to five minutes per person. A timer. I think we're gonna waive the timer tonight. And you may also submit statements to the secretary for both applicants and members of the public make and comment. When you are called to the podium, we ask that you please sign the oath sheet and then state your name and address into the microphone for the record prior to addressing the commission. Great, thank you very much. We will move on to new business, uh conditional uses. We have one conditional use. This is docket item number 11325, 1384 Bonneview Avenue. This is the Velvet Tail. Um is Ms.
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