Elbert County to hear proposal for veterinary surgery clinic near Elizabeth Aug. 12

The Elbert County Board of County Commissioners is scheduled to hear a proposal Aug. 12 for a TPLO2GO outpatient veterinary surgery clinic near Elizabeth. As of Aug. 11, county records did not show that the hearing had occurred or that the permit had been approved.

The BOCC agenda lists Special Use by Review case SUR-2025-0002 for a 1 p.m. hearing. The board is scheduled to hear from staff and the applicant, take public comment, discuss the proposal and decide whether to approve it. The BOCC action would be separate from the Planning Commission’s Aug. 4 vote recommending approval 8-0.

The proposal was relocated to a 40-acre Agriculture-zoned parcel identified in updated county records as 37631 County Road 21. An earlier staff-report passage lists 37361 County Road 21, leaving an unresolved address discrepancy.

According to the updated county staff report, applicants Jenny Van Deventer and Dustin Devine propose a clinic focused on TPLO orthopedic procedures for dogs and cats. The facility would operate no more than five days a week, see no more than seven patients per day and employ four to five people. It would not provide overnight care, boarding, breeding, routine wellness visits, vaccinations or outdoor kenneling. A small fenced area would allow animals outside on leashes, with waste removed daily.

Traffic would use a gated commercial driveway from County Road 21 to a building about 370 feet from the road. Applicant materials estimate 10 to 12 vehicles per day, including employees, with the busiest periods during morning drop-off and afternoon pickup. County Public Works determined that road improvements and an engineered traffic letter were not required, but the driveway would need county permits, inspections and approval.

Earlier review materials requested a traffic analysis addressing vehicle volume, sight distance, signs and possible turn restrictions or turn lanes. A later county engineer response said the analysis was unnecessary and instead required compliance with county access standards, the referral comments show. Two neighbors opposed the proposal at the Planning Commission hearing, citing traffic and the introduction of a commercial use. One written comment raised concerns about noise, nearby property values and the driveway’s location just beyond a hill crest.

The clinic would not use the property’s existing residential well or wastewater system. The staff report proposes a tank holding up to 2,500 gallons and supplied by a legal water-hauling company, but county records do not identify the company or show that the tank has been installed. Application materials also discuss a possible future well and list a different water-case number, so the final water source and approval status remain unresolved.

The facility would need a separate onsite wastewater treatment system designed, installed and approved by Elbert County Public Health. Available records do not show that the system has been installed or permitted.

A draft resolution in the meeting materials contains proposed approval language, but it does not show that the BOCC has acted. If approved, the proposed conditions would require payment of applicable fees, satisfaction of approval conditions, removal of public-notice signs, recording required documents within 180 days and recording the final SUR exhibit before the permit becomes effective.

The hearing is scheduled for the BOCC Meeting Room at the Elbert County Administration Building, 215 Comanche St. in Kiowa. No final decision should be inferred until the county publishes an official meeting record.