To be heard September 11, 2025Agenda Item No. 36

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Staff Recommendation

Approve the request for an interior renovation to add a daycare center in a church building because it is compatible with surrounding development and consistent with adopted plans.

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This request is for the interior renovation of the existing Faith Promise Church building to provide a daycare center for no more than 117 children, with operating hours from 6AM to 6PM, Monday through Friday.

STANDARDS FOR EVALUATING A SPECIAL USE (ARTICLE 16.2.F.2)

1) THE USE IS CONSISTENT WITH ADOPTED PLANS AND POLICIES, INCLUDING THE GENERAL PLAN AND THE ONE-YEAR PLAN.

A. This proposed day care center within a church building is consistent with the One Year Plan location criteria for educational facilities. The One Year Plan stipulates that "nursery schools" should be located within or adjacent to residential areas and on sites which are easily and safely accessible to through traffic. It also specifies that access should be on a collector street. This church campus is on Haynes-Sterchi Road, a minor collector street, located a short distance from where it intersects with Dry Gap Pike, a major collector street. This property is surrounded and easily accessed by many single-family and multifamily neighborhoods.

B. This childcare development is also consistent with the General Plan's Development Policy 9.12, to locate day care centers and other neighborhood services at the edges of neighborhoods or in village centers along arterial or collector streets, and in a manner which will not adversely affect surrounding properties. The subject property is not located within a neighborhood, but is easily accessible to multiple neighborhoods via a collector street network.

2) THE USE IS IN HARMONY WITH THE GENERAL PURPOSE AND INTENT OF THIS ZONING CODE.

A. This property is zoned RN-1 (Single-Family Residential Neighborhood) with a (C) district designation, which means its former RP-1 (Planned Residential) zone from the prior code overrides its contemporary base zone. Per the transition rules of Article 1.4.G, the old zoning regulations apply to future development on this property. The prior zoning code had supplementary regulations pertaining to "private day nurseries" that must be followed in this context. The proposed day care renovation meets all of those supplementary regulations, including the outdoor play area requirements.

B. Portions of the subject property are also within the HP (Hillside Protection Overlay) zone, which restricts disturbance on steep slopes. No further disturbance within the HP area is proposed with this development.

3) THE USE IS COMPATIBLE WITH THE CHARACTER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD WHERE IT IS PROPOSED, AND WITH THE SIZE AND LOCATION OF BUILDINGS IN THE VICINITY.

A. This church campus has been established since approximately 2003, and no significant exterior changes are proposed with this day care development. The proposed use will provide a service that is compatible with the surrounding residential environment.

4) THE USE WILL NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INJURE THE VALUE OF ADJACENT PROPERTY OR BY NOISE, LIGHTS, FUMES, ODORS, VIBRATION, TRAFFIC, CONGESTION, OR OTHER IMPACTS DETRACT FROM THE IMMEDIATE ENVIRONMENT.

1. There are no negative impacts to surrounding properties anticipated to occur with the proposed daycare on the 16.4-acre church campus. Conveniently located child care services are generally considered to be an asset in a residential context.

5) THE USE IS NOT OF A NATURE OR SO LOCATED AS TO DRAW SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC THROUGH RESIDENTIAL STREETS.

1. Haynes-Sterchi Road is classified as a collector street, and this use should not cause congestion on local residential streets. The long driveway leading to the building and the large existing parking lot should prevent traffic from backing up on Haynes-Sterchi Road during pickup and drop off times.