Local pet owners seeking emergency care for their animals may soon have another option in Delaware. A conditional use permit was approved during Wednesday’s Delaware Planning Commission meeting for Central Ohio Mobile Veterinary Surgical Service (COMVSS), LLC to begin a hospital at 585 Sunbury Road in the Delaware Commerce Park.
The park consists of six buildings, with the hospital proposed to occupy the westernmost building on the 7.1-acre site. Currently, the 6,000-square-foot building sits vacant according to Planning and Zoning Administrator Lance Shultz, and COMVSS intends to occupy the entire building for its practice.
If approved, the emergency care center would provide referral surgical and emergency services for pets around the clock. All pets would be housed indoors, only leaving the building occasionally for exercise, rehab, and bathroom purposes. Because of the limited outdoor exposure for animals being cared for at the hospital, the center would not qualify as a kennel; An outdoor kennel would not be permitted at the site due to the existing residential homes just north of the site on Bowtown Road.
Boarding services will not be offered as a service at the hospital, although some animals will be required to stay overnight as a result of their care.
“Delaware County and Delaware in general, we don’t have an emergency hospital,” said James Reynolds, the head veterinarian at COMVSS. “So, we’re looking to start something that is closer to home so people have another option besides going down to places like MedVet and Ohio State. It’s a more affordable option closer to home.”
With the approval from planning commission, the conditional use permit request will now go before Delaware City Council for final approval. No exterior site improvements have been proposed as part of the permit, meaning the care site will not be subjected to submitting engineering drawings for the building.
The first reading of the permit will be held at the next council meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 8. Following the first reading, a public hearing will be scheduled for the second reading at the following council meeting, which will allow residents to weigh in on the proposal.
