Urban Affairs Committee votes 5-0 to deny Lincoln Street dog grooming permit

MARLBOROUGH -- January 24, 2023, Urban Affairs votes 5-0 to recommend denial of dog grooming special permit at 75 Lincoln Street. The committee rejected applicants Markel Frink and Divino Oliveira's bid to open All Fur Love in the RB-zoned property, where a former upholstery repair business has been closed since 2019. The chair read from a 2020 Zoning Board of Appeals denial at the same site, citing the rule that "the right to continue a non-conforming use does not allow the owner to change a fundamentally different use," and noted dog grooming is not a listed use anywhere in city zoning. Councilor Austin warned of "a challenging precedence" if a grooming business were allowed in a residential district by special permit. Councilor Dussault, initially open to the application, accepted the legal analysis: "There's nothing we can really do about this." The recommendation moves to the full City Council, where the order would otherwise lay on the table until February 20.