WOBURN - Awaiting a recommendation from the Planning Board, the City Council at its recent meeting deferred a vote on a proposal for a "pet hotel" on Commerce Way until at least Oct. 30.

A request from Pestmart for a special permit for what is now technically referred to as a "pet care facility" is scheduled for review by the Planning Board on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

The pet hotel is an accessory to a pet store that will be part of a retail center proposed by National Development at 112 Commerce Way. There will also be an Office Max store and a Chipotle Grill restaurant.

The public hearing on the special permit for the shopping center itself is also scheduled to be resumed at the council's Oct. 30 meeting.

In September, the council OK'd a petition from National Development to allow pet care facilities as an accessory use to a retail pet store larger than 15,000-square feet, in Business Interstate (BI) districts.

Over the course of several public hearings and committee meetings, the council and the petitioners narrowed the definition to prevent the possibility of kennels cropping up in some of the other BI zones, notably the area near the Showcase Cinema complex, which is much closer to residential homes than the Commerce Way facilities.

There will be a buffer zone of 550 feet between a pet care facility and a residential district, and pet hotels must be for dogs and cats only, "in a sound-attenuated indoor facility containing non-operable windows."

Pet hotel

Taking the council through PowerPoint presentation, Pestmart representative Ray West told the council the chain operates about 900 stores, 83 of which also have pet hotels, in the U.S. and Canada, including Framingham and one that will open soon in Cambridge.

The hotel is designed to accommodate pets whose owners are out-of-town. Among the amenities of the "doggie day camp" are television sets.

Petsmart is also involved in animal rescues and placement of homeless pets, and West touted the presence of the company's "Rescue Waggin" during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Data compiled by Petsmart indicates there is a pet in 90 percent of the households in Woburn. Sixty-four percent of households have a dog, while 47 percent have a cat.

The hotel would be comprise about 7,000-square-feet and be located the back section of the building, with the retail component in the front.

Ward 5 Alderman Darlene Mercer-Bruen asked a question about fire safety pre-cautions, a concern that was initially raised at a previous public hearing by East Woburn resident Kathy Bailey.

West said the hotel will have a "state-of-the-art sprinkler system," and store officials work with local fire departments on an evacuation plan.

He said generally the first priority is the evacuation of the employees, followed by the safety of the firefighters.

The petitioners were represented by Joseph Tarby, an attorney with the Woburn offices of the Murtha Cullina firm.