Date: Fri 24-Apr-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Child-Care-Center-Whelan

Full Text:

P&Z Approves Child Care Center At Former Prudential Insurance Site

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has approved a local couple's plans

for Misty Morning Child Day Care Center, a child care facility planned for 10

Commerce Road.

P&Z members approved the project in a 4-to-0 vote at an April 16 session.

P&Z member Robert Taylor made a motion to approve the day care center on the

condition that a concrete pad be built for its Dumpster; that speed bumps be

installed to slow traffic on the site; that a walkway between the child care

center and an outdoor playground be clearly marked; and that signs warning

motorists of the presence of children be installed.

Commission members voting to approve the facility were Mr Taylor, Herbert

Hoover, Jr, Daniel Fogliano, and Heidi Winslow. Member Lilla Dean, who was

present at the April 16 meeting, was not eligible to vote.

The three P&Z members who voted to postpone action on the proposal at an April

2 meeting were not present April 16.

P&Z members James Boylan, Michael Osborne and Stephen Koch on April 2 had

voted to postpone action on the application. Mr Boylan had said he wanted

additional information from the applicant on how the presence of a child care

center would affect traffic volumes in the area.

Center Specs

Wendy and John Whelan of Cedar Hill Road plan to convert the former Prudential

insurance building at 10 Commerce Road into a child care center.

The center would care for a maximum of 114 children and have a maximum staff

of 25 people. Its hours would be Mondays through Fridays from 6:30 am to 6 pm.

Child day care centers must be licensed by the state. The existing one-story,

6,000-square-foot brick building is on a 2-acre site. The site would also hold

a fenced-in playground that could hold a maximum of 30 children at any one

time. There would be a total 53 parking spaces.

The former insurance office at 10 Commerce Road is built with a truss-style

roof and thus has no support posts inside. The floor plan for the day care

center will require state approvals.

Mrs Whelan has explained that most children cared for at the center would be

between the ages of three and five.

The center also would care for the children of staffers. Those children would

be five to ten years old.

It is also possible to secure a special state license to care for children

from six weeks old to age three.

The facility would offer morning, midday and afternoon sessions for children,

Ms Whelan said.

The center would serve the children of the many people who work in commercial

and industrial facilities on Commerce Road, besides other areas.