Day Care Center Rules Okd

n amended version f an ordinaice t would allovv day care centers to set I operations in the city's residential ghborhoods without prior approval ned the support of the city Planning nmission Tuesday night. 'he proposal would allów some day „re operations to be classified as permitted uses in residential areas, and bypass the present requirement of approval by the Zoning Board of Appeals. The new ordinance springs from a previously defeated attempt by the Community Day Care and Pre-School Center to establish a day care center on Westminster. That project ran into strenuous objections from neighborhood residents, and was defeated by the appeals board. The new ordinance came to the Planning Commission simply providing that all day care centers would be allowed in residential areas without action by the appeals board. But the final versión approved by the commission somewhat narrowed that unrestricted usage. It sets requirements of space, boih in-house and play area, which centers must have to be exempt from action by the zoning board. These technical amendments will also limit the number of children that can . be cared for in any one home. City Planner Marvin Carlson told the commission the technical amendments added to the ordinance would limit to 25 the number of children that could be Jcépt in a parcel containing 7,500 square Peet of space. These technical changes specifically require 250 square feet of net lot area per pupil, or 75 square feet of play area per pupil, whichever will permit the fewest number of children. Day care centers which would still need the Zoning Board of Appeals okay are those not meeting these space standards, or centers on streets where on-street parking is prohibited on both sides, or streets with more than two lanes of traffic. This first street provisión is designed to deal with centers where parking may be a problem, and the latter is to allow review of centers planned for busy r f ' thorougMares. All speakers during both the public hearing and commission discussion endorsed the concept of child care, but not all agreed that the centers should be alloved to bypass theappeals board. Liva Leever, of 1612 Westminster, represented neighbors in that area who oppose the center there by claiming more planning is needed for center locations. And this need for planning should include the Zoning Board of Appeals, she said. "To say day care centers can be placed anywhere is to ignore the laws of child psychology," she said. A child's mother or the appropriate substitute plays the most important role in a child's early development, but this role cannot be carried out successfully by "shoving" a child in just any location, she added. She argued that there should be as much planning for day care center locations as there is for schools and businesses. The only opposition on the commission came from Chairman Charles Reinhart, who said bypassing the Zoning Board of Appeals is not the right approach to this "extremely sensitive problem." Reinhart also noted that of the 38 ehildren scheduled to attend the Westminster center, if it is approved, half are not from that neighborhood, thus disproving the idea that the centers are neighborhood services. Commissioner Gerald De Grieck said the 19 non-neighborhood children pointed out the citywide need for more day care facilities. He said the Zoning Board of I Appeals has not been a sensitive body, I and claimed "child welfare is not the I sponsibility of just the parents, but of I the whole society." After a couple of minor amendments, I the ordinance was referred to City I cil with a recommendation for approval, I with only Reinhart going against it.