Title
Ordinance To Amend And Re-Enact The Zoning Ordinance Of The City Of Hampton, Virginia by Amending Section 2-2 To Add New Definitions Of Animal Day Care, Animal Shelter, Home Based Rescue And Veterinarian Office Or Hospital, And To Modify Definitions Of Home Occupation, Kennel and Establishment
Purpose
Background Statement:
This amendment is accompanied by a separate, related amendment to Chapter 3 (Item # 20-0161), which includes the permitted uses table and additional standards.
Hampton Animal Response Team (HART, formerly known as Animal Control) recently amended Chapter 5 of the city code which prompted this review of the zoning ordinance to align with the HART definitions. Staff used the opportunity to take a close look at the existing related uses within the zoning ordinance so that we are working toward both aligning our efforts and modernizing the City’s zoning ordinance.
The existing kennel definition within the zoning ordinance captures kennels with 2 or more dogs or cats, and does not include hunting kennels. The HART definition only includes kennels with 5 or more dogs or cats and does include hunting among other listed uses. This proposed ordinance amendment would align the zoning ordinance definition of kennel with the one used by HART.
Three similar uses to kennels which were not previously defined by the zoning ordinance are animal day care, home based rescue, and veterinary office or hospital. Staff believes that this is a prudent time to define and fully consider where these similar uses are most suitable within the City of Hampton.
The term animal shelter is being defined to clearly identify what is meant within the definition of animal day care. Animal day cares explicitly exclude animal shelters, but the zoning ordinance currently lacks a definition for animal shelter. Therefore, staff proposes adopting the definition from Chapter 5 of the city code that HART uses to avoid any future confusion or uncertainty in the application o...
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