Permits for Day Care, Boathouse Approved
By Amy Polk

Sarah Patton will be able to operate a group day care for up to 12 children in Cedarville, following Clark Township Planning Commission approval of her application for a special land use permit Tuesday, June 12.

Ms. Patton will operate a day care from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Wanda Lamoreaux's home on Kromiller Road in Cedarville. The home is in the rural residential zone (R-2), and Ms. Patton will rent the home from Ms. Lamoreaux, who previously operated a day care there but did not need planning commission approval to do so because it was operated as a "family day care" facility for up to six children.

Group day care operators are now advised by the Department of Human Services Child Care and Adult Licensing to get township or city permission to operate a day care before opening the facility. The Michigan Zoning Enabling Act of 2006 mandates that such facilities get a special land use permit from the municipality in which they will be operated. The permit process gives the public and neighboring residents the opportunity to comment on the proposed land use. The Department of Human Services reports that some group day care operators have successfully obtained a state license, only to be shut down by a municipality that does not allow day care operations in a particular zone.

Ms. Patton said her operation will start with as many as eight children, and she will be assisted by another person, as mandated by state law which requires one adult for every four children. She has installed a fence around the play area in the backyard, and she eventually plans to integrate an accredited educational program into the care she provides.

Commissioner Jeff Davis moved to approve the special land use request under the allowance for schools in R-2, because Clark Township zoning has no definition or rules regarding child care facilities. The motion also stipulated that Ms. Patton maintain her state license and operate between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.; and that the permit only be valid for Ms. Patton at Ms. Lamoreaux's property. The permit cannot be moved to another property, nor can it be transferred to another person.

Commissioners all voted in favor of the motion, which provoked discussion about the importance of updating the township's land use ordinance because it does not have guidelines for certain commonplace uses.

"You can have a slaughter house here, but you can't have a day care," Commission Chair Steve Honnila remarked about the lack of guidelines for day cares anywhere in Clark Township's zoning ordinance.

Zoning Administrator Frank Sims said the ordinance, originally drafted in the mid-1970s, and amended several times since, was written when most people had occasional sitters and family members to watch their children, and therefore little use for daycare.

He tried to fit the use under "home occupation" guidelines, but it exceeded the maximum allowable area. Commissioners were divided on whether a daycare could be considered a school, but they were less inclined to change the ordinance by adding daycare as a use while in the process of updating the document.

Similar conflicts have come up when the planning commission heard requests to build Cedar Cove Assisted Living Facility, Great Lakes Boat Building School, and to establish site and resort condominiums. While commissioners were in favor of all such uses, there were no guidelines governing the non-traditional uses. Mr. Sims has also asked commissioners to develop guidelines for bed and breakfast establishments in Clark Township.

In the second hearing of the meeting, Commissioners gave Rick Sadler of Cedarville permission to build an oversized boathouse on his shoreline because the requested structure was actually smaller than then ordinance allows by special land use. The boathouse ordinance allows structures of 600 square feet or less without a permit. Anything larger must go before the planning commission for special land use approval on a case-by-case basis. The more frontage the developer owns, the larger the boathouse can be.

Mr. Sadler's request for a 787.2-square-foot boathouse is smaller than the 1,000-foot structure allowed by special land use permit on 201 to 500 feet of lake frontage. Mr. Sadler has 435 feet of frontage at his property. The structure will also be less than the allowable height, at 16.5 feet. The ordinance allows a structure up to 18 feet over the water.

Questioned about the appearance of the boathouse, Mr. Sadler said it will have red cedar siding to match his house.

Commissioners received no public comments opposing either of the special land use requests.

The next regular Clark Township Planning Commission meeting will be Tuesday, July 10, at 7 p.m., at Clark Township Hall in Cedarville.