AgdaPkt 2002-04-22 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Background On December 7, 2001, Ms. Silveira (applicant) submitted an application (Exhibit 2) to expand her "small family day care home" (up to six children) to a "large family day care home" (up to twelve children) at 1232 Maxwell Lane which is located on a public cul-de- sac, comprised of ten homes (Exhibit 3). Planning & Redevelopment grants large family day care home permits over the counter as long as certain conditions are met, including notifying the neighboring property owners. Following the notification, of her neighbors, Ms. Silveira informed staff that her neighbors had expressed concerns regarding her proposed expansion from a small family day care to a large family day care. For this reason, and in order to resolve issues raised by other residents that live along the cul-de-sac, staff suggested mediation, by the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center (PCRC). (Exhibit 4). At mediation issues were identified and discussed, but no resolution was reached. Following'mediation, the Zoning Administrator held a public hearing and subsequently approved the permit after hearing the testimony. Soon after the approval of the permit, ten Maxwell Lane residents appealed this action (Exhibit 5). History' In 1991, the City Council established an over the counter process in order to facilitate and promote child care facilities in Redwood City. This process allowed staff to grant permits for large family day care homes as long as the applicant met certain conditions of approval. (See Evaluation Criteria on pages 4 & 5). Furthermore, no public hearing or notification of neighbors was required at that time. In 2000, a City Council Subcommittee recommended that the City Council amend Section 2.21.1 of the Zoning Ordinance so as to include notification of adjoining property owners1. The City Council agreed with the Subcommittee recommendation and adopted an amendment to Section 2.21.1, which provides that an applicant must notify neighbors within 100 feet 10 days prior to the date on which the decision on a Daycare permit is made by the Zoning ^dministrator. Unfortunately, an incorrect version of the amendment was inserted into the City Zoning Ordinance. However, the right ordinance making the above referred change (amending Section 2.21.1) was introduced, published and adopted. This means that the ordinance that was adopted by the Council is a valid ordinance. Traffic & Parking Issues Listed below are traffic & parking concerns that were raised by the neighbors who reside on Maxwell Lane and followed by staff's response. ~ This proposed change stemmed from a situation that occurred at 743 Canyon Road regarding the use of a private easement on a neighbor's property used to access the child care facility. The Subcommittee believed that the issue could have been avoided if the City notified the neighbors of the day care proposal early in the process.