After struggling against neighbors sternly opposed to her dog kennel business in an unincorporated area of the county near Weaverville, Hailey Hirsch moved down her list of possible sites, and about 2.5 miles to the south, settled on one in Woodfin. 

On Sept. 27, at the Woodfin Planning and Zoning Board of Adjustment, Orion Retreat and Daycare got the approval it needed to start wheels turning on a dream Hirsch has had for decades: owning a pet care facility. 

"It's wonderful," said Hirsch. "Since I've had it approved, so many people (have) said 'Oh my goodness, I wish you were open now.'"

Plans are only slightly changed from what she presented to the Buncombe County Board of Adjustment over three separate meetings in January, February and March before withdrawing her application for a conditional use permit after the board decided an acoustical engineer didn't qualify as an expert in the quasi-judicial hearing. 

That decision by Hirsch and her attorney Brian Gulden came after more than 10 hours before the county board, with two nearby homeowners' associations expressing concerns about the proposal, mainly over barking dogs.  

The Woodfin Board approved the permit unanimously after less than two hours, with no one opposing the use at 393 Weaverville Road, in the town's Community Shopping zoning district. 

More:Neighbors leery of proposed dog daycare near Weaverville

One letter included with the meeting materials from Steve Ward, who owns three parcels adjacent to the site, says he has "no concern that such use will impede access to my properties ... nor do I have concerns that the use of the property as a kennel will negatively affect my use and enjoyment of my property or impair my property's value in any way."

Hirsch initially sought to construct a 14,000-square-foot facility on 3.32 acres of wooded land between Pinebrook Road and Alpine Way near Weaverville, in an area zoned residential. 

"I just didn't want to spend any more money or time on it," she said, of the decision to pursue a different property. "It would've been months longer. Months. It just wasn't something I was willing to do."

Now, she plans to open Orion Retreat and Daycare in spring 2023 in time for folks to house their dogs when they take off for spring break. 

She sold the other lot near Weaverville and is under contract for the site on Weaverville Road, which she said was No. 3 on her list of five potential properties to locate the business. 

More:Dog kennel plan near Weaverville: Board of Adjustment delays decision again

After the first location didn't work out, she simply moved down the list, Hirsch said, calling the Weaverville Road site a better location. 

She said the dog day care, which offers "junior," "superior," and "luxury suites," and a number of other high-end features, had been a dream of hers, but it wasn't until she secured the first property in 2019 that she really started planning, even compiling a 400-page business plan.  

Hirsch also plans to build a house on the site, part of plans the Woodfin board approved Sept. 27. 

For the first three to five years, Hirsch said she plans to live in the house, after which she hopes to rent it to the manager or assistant manager of the day care. Asked during the hearing if she would eventually sell it, "the answer is absolutely not," she said. 

The plans had to be altered some, she said, including removing two of the "luxury suites," which include private outdoor play yards and moving the entrance to the narrower side of the rectangle-shaped, single-story building. 

But she still plans to include a suite reserved for a rescue dog right at the front. 

According to its website, Orion Retreat and Daycare will offer indoor play zones with wall-to-wall rubber matting, and specialized artificial grass outside with a system designed to break down liquid waste before it enters the stormwater system. 

Derek Lacey covers health care, growth and development for the Asheville Citizen Times. Reach him at DLacey@gannett.com or 828-417-4842 and find him on Twitter @DerekAVL.