June was a big month for us at Mew Haven Cat Cafe. At the beginning of the month, the Board of Alders held a vote that would ultimately result in adding “cat café” as an allowed business use under the local zoning ordinances. This was of utmost important because the City Planning department determined that our business did not fit into any current classification; we were not merely a café, nor were we a kennel. We needed this new definition to realize our concept.
If the Board of Alders voted positively, we would then have to apply for zoning approval to take advantage of the newly created “cat café” use. Because of the way that schedules lined up, we would have only a week and a half to submit our request. We had to quickly provide answers on a form that required in-depth zoning knowledge. In some cases, businesses choose to hire an attorney for this purpose – providing specific descriptions of the business model, detailed floor plans, and more.