Last Updated on January 30, 2022, 6:41 PM | Published: January 30, 2022
MOORE, OKLA. (Free Press) — On January 3rd, Moore City Council started with an uncharacteristically large audience who voiced opinions on a new development by the Hairy Paw Inn dog daycare.
The Council also considered an ongoing zoning issue and ways to improve infrastructure to accommodate a new QuikTrip location.
In its January 18 meeting, the Council heard first reports about the use of Moore Police officers to substitute in Moore Public Schools.
Hairy Paw Inn background
Hairy Paw Inn is a dog daycare and dog boarding facility between NE 17th and NE 27th on S. Bryant in northeastern Moore.
The owners applied for a rezoning to accommodate new developments and expansion. Most of which targeted sound levels that bothered residents of the nearby neighborhood Lost Creek, like moving the outdoor play area away from the street or requiring new infrastructure be built to mitigate noise.
The Hairy Paw held a neighborhood meeting in August 2021 and was included in a Planning Commission Meeting to solve the sound issue with the community, and did not find any objection to the plans. Further support came in the form of letters from residents, customers, and the Chamber of Commerce encouraging the City to accept their wish to expand.
Sound engineers were brought out and found no noise issues caused by the boarding facility, due in part to the Happy trails dog park only a few hundred feet away from Hairy Paw Inn and the Lost Creek neighborhood.
All seemed to be well, but to be sure, the Council elected to table the issue until further investigation could be done.
Competing arguments on Hairy Paw decision
On January 3rd, nearly 20 people came on behalf of the Hairy Paw Inn along with Attorney at Law David Box, who described the new developments and outlined all the changes that would reduce sound issues.
The dogs would be moved much farther away from the edge of the neighborhood, and a large brick building would stand between them and the street, they said.
They also argued that the number of dogs and hours they could be outside were limited. Thirty bushes and trees would be planted to further prevent sound pollution.
The neighborhood of Lost Creek had Attorney Carly Ortel represent them and argue why Hairy Paw Inn was a nuisance for the community.
From the Neighborhood’s perspective, the expansion of Hairy Dog Inn means more dogs and more noise, with the attempts at sound mitigation ineffective.
The credibility of the sound engineers was questioned, along with the environmental impacts of more dogs closer to a neighboring park.
A resident of Lost Creek did show displeasure with the application and described how they have been fighting the existence of the facility since 2014.
“There is an Oklahoma statute on the books that says no commercial kennel, hobby kennel, or breeder’s kennel within 2500 ft of an elementary school or a daycare… Winding Creek [elementary school] is ~2400 ft onto the back of [the applicant’s] property.”
She discussed how she does not want them to have more dogs and cause further nuisance, regardless of whether the business does a good job or not.
“Send the sound engineers to my house. It is nothing but a nuisance… this does nothing but hurt the value of our property.”
By contrast, numerous residents clearly expressed support for the Hairy Paw’s work. Most welcomed the expansion because the owners take care of the establishment and show a passion for dogs, proponents argued.
The Google reviews reflect the same, with a 5.0-star rating from 77 reviewers.
After months, the Council unanimously voted to pass the item and allow Hairy Paw Inn expansion privileges based on the zoning change.
QuikTrip
It’s looking more likely that The City of Moore will be getting a QuikTrip south of NW 27th street and just west of I-35.
But, first, significant infrastructure changes will be required by the City to relieve existing traffic issues in the area and provide enough roadway for large trucks to safely enter and exit the truck stop.
This was enough to encourage a few members of the community to express their feelings about the traffic issues and benefits of a local QuikTrip.
One person explained how good the service and facilities are at QuikTrip stores they have visited. They expanded by mentioning how congested the area already feels, so changing things to accommodate more traffic is a welcome improvement.
Another worried about the effects on their nearby neighborhood and the already dangerous road conditions caused by drivers who run stop signs to save time.
Mayor Glenn Lewis immediately offered to help and suggested the Police Department take a look at the area and ensure safety.
At the end of discussion and comments, the Council unanimously supported the rezoning and ordinance changes QuikTrip applied for. The land is now considered “Light Industrial District with a Permissive use” and will facilitate the construction of a QuickTrip location later.
January 18th Meeting
The January 18th meeting was brief, but included a few things that are important to the development and maintenance of Moore.
The fire department will fix a fire truck that had been broken and needed repairs. The total cost is about $28,000, which is much cheaper than the million dollar price tag of new models. This should allow the 13-year-old truck to run for another 10 years before needing to be replaced.
Mayor Glenn Lewis also had some words about Moore’s recent publicity. The City of Moore is one of the few municipalities in Oklahoma to take advantage of Kevin Stitt’s executive order allowing any state employee to serve as a substitute for a limited time.
Officers from the Moore Police Department were featured across national news for teaching classes, with a positive lens.
“I really appreciate you doing that, and I think it was a good positive effect for the community,” Lewis said of the Officers.
The next City Council meeting is scheduled for February 7th, 2022.
Damian Powell is our government reporter for the smaller municipalities in the OKC metro such as Moore, Norman, Bethany, and Warr Acres. Damian is studying Political Science at the University of Oklahoma.
