Dr. Jeannine Kinney wiped away tears as one person after another spoke about the care they have received from her over the past two decades as the owner of the Oak Creek Small Animal Clinic.

Those kind words about Kinney and her staff came during the Tuesday, June 5, Sedona Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Kinney was seeking approval for a development review and conditional use permit to build a new 4,889-square-foot veterinary clinic on nearly an acre of vacant land at the corner of State Route 89A and Pinon Drive.

The request passed by a unanimous vote of the commission.

“The current location of the Oak Creek Small Animal Clinic [3130 W. SR 89A] is within the Dry Creek Community Focus Area as well,” a city report states. “This will keep this use within the CFA, while providing a clinic that will better serve the needs of the clients than the current location.

“The veterinary clinic’s customers are primarily residents and is not open after 5 p.m. except for emergencies. The proposed use will provide a good land use transition from the highway to the residential neighborhood to the south. The landscaping along W. State Route 89A will also be enhanced, contributing to the natural open space feel along the highway.”

The only concerns expressed by the public at the commission meeting or by email dealt with the potential of barking dogs that may be boarded at the facility and additional traffic on Pinon Drive. Kinney said they will not be boarding animals overnight other than on rare occasions. The kennel area will face the highway and will be soundproofed.

As for the additional traffic, City Engineer Andy Dickey said an animal clinic generates very little traffic, about 10 cars an hour.

Dickey was asked if a sidewalk would eventually be put in on Pinon Drive. He said developmental impact fees will be used to put in a sidewalk during Fiscal Year 2020.

Kinney said the reason she was seeking another building is simple — they’ve outgrown the current one.

“Over the years our clinic has grown from a one-doctor operation to a business that supports three doctors — if we’re staffed the way we would like — as well as numerous support staff,” she said, noting that a new building will allow them to serve more patients, and improve the technology used.

“It became very obvious to us in the last few years that in order to continue serving this community as we’d like to, we need a bigger, more modern facility,” Kinney said.

Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com