Gloucester Council Approves Dog Boarding Permit, Downtown Housing Conversion in 8-0 Votes

GLOUCESTER — July 8, 2025 — Gloucester City Council approved two special permits and more than $3.4 million in fiscal year-end budget transfers at its July 8 meeting. The council voted 8-0 to grant a special permit for Tidepool Pet Services owner Delaney Barlow to operate a boutique dog day care and boarding facility at 26 Walker Street, capping the operation at 12 dogs per day and six overnight with a pickup-and-drop-off "doggy bus" to minimize neighborhood traffic. The council also voted 7-0 to approve conversion of a non-conforming seven-unit structure at 6-8 Gould Court to a six-family building, with one unit permanently affordable at 80 percent area median income — a condition that Councilor at Large Jason Groh called "pretty much a make or break" for him. Six fiscal year 2025 transfers, including a $927,000 draw from the General Stabilization Fund to cover the snow and ice deficit and a $2,176,591 special budgetary transfer to close departmental gaps, all passed 8-0. Interim CAO Catherine Schlichte briefed the council on the Republic Services trash strike, saying Gloucester was one of only two communities in the region to receive any pickup since the Teamsters walkout began July 3, while logging between 2,000 and 3,000 See-Click-Fix complaints; the council withdrew a proposed right-turn-only restriction at Grove Street and Washington Street without prejudice, pending a formal traffic study requested by multiple councilors and the mayor's office.