ALLOUEZ – After a similar request was denied in Sept. 2024, the Allouez Village Board approved a rezoning request for Parcel AL-1211-A-600, located at 3110 Stanton Ct.
With the board’s approval, the lot will be split into two parts, one of which will be rezoned for commercial use and added to the adjoining Riverside Animal Hospital property while the remaining portion of the lot will remain zoned for residential use.
Dr. Steve DeGrave, owner of both lots, said the intention is to use the roughly 100 additional feet of frontage attributed to the Riverside Animal Hospital Lot to expand the business’ parking lot — something that has been of great concern for both staff and clients.
“We currently have 28 parking spots and 25 employees that work everyday,” DeGrave said. “We see 130 clients a day and we need those parking spots to continue to function as we are.”
“In addition to caring for the animals, it’s also my job to look out for the safety and comfort of my employees, my clients and my patients,” said Dr. Andrea Moede, veterinarian and assistant chief of staff at Riverside Animal Hospital. “The need for veterinary services in Allouez is an extremely high demand right now… A lot of times, my staff is working past closing time to help meet the needs of these clients and patients. Available parking should not be one of the reasons we have to turn people away who need help.”
When the rezoning request was initially brought up last year, residents of Stanton Ct. and the surrounding neighborhood voiced many concerns about the potential impacts of the rezoning and parking lot addition in their neighborhood, especially as it relates to the disruption of how the lot had historically been made available to the neighborhood for recreation, with a tennis court, small athletic field and field house.
“We as a group are deeply frustrated by those who criticize our stance without understanding the lot’s history and its importance to our community,” read a statement prepared by residents of Stanton Ct. “The neighborhood should not be subjected to a rezoning plan that prioritizes a business and the business owner’s financial interests over the well-being of its residents’ quality of life and property values… Such a change would disrupt the integrity of our neighborhood, diminish the quality of life and harm overall livability.”
After the site plan proposal was denied in September, considerable changes were made to the design, rendering the project eligible to be brought back before the board.
The initial proposal included a future pedestrian connection from Stanton Ct. to Riverside Drive, a turn-around in the parking lot, additional parking stalls and no berm.
The proposal brought before and approved by the board at the March 4 meeting addressed several concerns brought up by residents at the prior meeting including adjustments to the proposed lot lines, different lighting and the addition of a berm and additional trees for enhanced screening. The new plan also removed the future pedestrian connection and turn-around in the lot as well as reduced the total number of proposed parking spaces.
“It’s important, I think, that Allouez has a veterinary business that serves so many people — so many of our pets,” said Trustee Jean Marsch, who voted against the proposal in September. “We appreciate and understand the residents who came before us and understand how they feel… They offered very good suggestions for Dr. DeGrave and he took those into consideration. That helped me change my original position.”
Both village staff and the Plan Commission recommended that the board approve the rezoning request and site plan proposal given the project’s alignment with goals included in Allouez’s comprehensive plan.
“The comprehensive plan is our guiding document for making rezoning decisions,” said Allouez Director of Planning and Community Development Trevor Fuller. “Our comprehensive plan doesn’t specifically reference this parcel, but [one of the goals] in our comprehensive plan is to encourage business that is compatible with adjacent residential uses. The current business is an office. It’s a nine-to-five type… That is a really compatible business to have adjacent to a residential area.”
Other goals listed in the comprehensive plan would also be furthered by the proposed rezoning and development, including making efforts to retain existing businesses — without adequate parking, Dr. DeGrave said Riverside Animal Hospital would need to consider moving elsewhere — and encouraging the redevelopment of underutilized or vacant lots — Dr. DeGrave indicated that he intends to sell the remaining residential portion of the currently unoccupied lot in hopes that someone will construct a house there.
Ultimately, the board approved the rezoning request, site plan proposal and accompanying design exception request all 6-1 with Trustee Rob Atwood voting in opposition.
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