Chamber, LaunchPad Asks County To Review Child Care Zoning
May 5, 2021 at 10:13 p.m.
Chamber, LaunchPad Asks County To Review Child Care Zoning
By Teresa [email protected]
LaunchPad helps families access high-quality and affordable child care or early learning options for their children, birth to age 5. Searles said there are 1,200 “seats,” or openings, available and county parents need 1,800 more.
She and Parker explained that one way to open up child care opportunities for licensed operators and parents is to have a non-resident home care option. Currently, the county allows owner-occupied home child care. The non-resident option, which is in alignment with state law, means someone, or some business, could buy a house and offer child care without living in the house.
“We have business owners who are willing to provide the child care,” he said, “who buy the property immediately, but the rule is you must live there.”
Child care also is an exception in a residential zone and when a petitioner went before the Board of Zoning Appeals, it was denied because of the neighbor’s complaints.
Parker said in nearby Marshall County there are 16 zoning districts, compared to Kosciusko County’s four, and one of them is for home child care with a non-resident owner. Marshall County has 18 child care homes; Kosciusko County has 12 child care homes and it is twice as large as Marshall.
Maggie Kenworthy said she was 23 weeks pregnant and she and her husband have decided she will be a stay-at-home mom. “There’s no quality day care or it’s too expensive,” she said. “Kosciusko County will be losing a college-educated, income-contributing citizen.”
Parker said, in the long run, all he and Searles are asking for is consideration of a change in the zoning requirements for child care as the county’s ordinances exceed state law.
Area Plan Director Dan Richard said his staff could come up with a few ideas to bring before the BZA, too.
Area Plan Commission Chairman Dr. Lee Harman said he would be willing to serve on a committee toward that goal.
The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission meeting Wednesday began with a final plat approval, with conditions, as requested by Glenn Hlutke.
At the April meeting, a drainage survey was requested, but did not accompany this petition to divide a 9.95-acre tract of ground on the east side of CR 950E in Tippecanoe Township into four lots.
Glenn and Jennifer Hlutke were in attendance and Jennifer said their engineer is working on the drainage survey. That survey must reach the planning office prior to any further developments on the property.
Case No. 21007Z, filed by Edd Allen, to rezone ground from a residential district to a commercial district was continued from April, reintroduced Wednesday and denied by the Plan Commission. The item will now move to the Pierceton Town Council for a final decision.
The property is on the east side of Mill Street, south of U.S. 30.
Andrew Rosell, of AR Engineering, appeared for the owner and did not bring an ingress-egress study as requested in April, nor a drainage study and water mitigation plan.
Rosell said as far as traffic concerns go, he spoke with an Indiana Department of Transportation manager who said Mill Street would remain open, if and when any expansion of U.S. 30 took place.
He conceded that drainage was of concern and Pierceton Utilities Superintendent Casey Boggs was aware of the issue. He said an on-site water retention plan has been developed and the prospective buyers would work with the town.
County surveyor Mike Kissinger said his office has been aware of the water problem in this low-laying area for years and has never been able to come up with a solution.
Plan Commission member Larry Coplen said maybe the reason the area has never been developed is because of the existing drainage issues.
Richard also pointed out that AR Engineering was involved with another project, the Dollar General site in Syracuse. Instead of making the entrance as far away from Ind. 13 as possible, as requested by Area Plan, the entrance is as close to Ind. 13 as can be.
Rosell said the County Highway Department approved it. Richard said, yes, they did approve it, but this board did not.
Rosell said these studies cost thousands of dollars and it wasn’t something the developer especially wanted to invest in before the rezoning was approved.
A Pierceton resident noted that it’s possible a semi-tractor-trailer could end up parking on Mill Street before making a delivery. If another semi wanted to exit U.S. 30, onto Mill Street, it could be a problem.
Kenneth Ousley said he lives south of the proposed site and he considers it too small for a 100-foot by 100-foot building with customer parking and a delivery lane.
Harman said the site just isn’t suitable and suggested the town could deal with the matter further.
The decision to deny the rezoning was unanimous.
The commissioners held a hearing for the Agriculture Disclaimer Acknowledgement Form. There were no public comments.
The form, once approved by the commissioners, will accompany all permit applications and be recorded and cross-referenced. The property owner signing the form acknowledges there are one or more inconveniences or discomforts encountered in an agricultural area and the signees are willing to accept them as a normal and necessary aspect of living in the country near farms or agricultural operations.
A petition filed by Robert and Phyllis Swanson for preliminary plat approval on a 1.70-acre tract of ground was continued, as was the vacation of property requested by Michael Irving, 544 EMS D15 Lane.
LaunchPad helps families access high-quality and affordable child care or early learning options for their children, birth to age 5. Searles said there are 1,200 “seats,” or openings, available and county parents need 1,800 more.
She and Parker explained that one way to open up child care opportunities for licensed operators and parents is to have a non-resident home care option. Currently, the county allows owner-occupied home child care. The non-resident option, which is in alignment with state law, means someone, or some business, could buy a house and offer child care without living in the house.
“We have business owners who are willing to provide the child care,” he said, “who buy the property immediately, but the rule is you must live there.”
Child care also is an exception in a residential zone and when a petitioner went before the Board of Zoning Appeals, it was denied because of the neighbor’s complaints.
Parker said in nearby Marshall County there are 16 zoning districts, compared to Kosciusko County’s four, and one of them is for home child care with a non-resident owner. Marshall County has 18 child care homes; Kosciusko County has 12 child care homes and it is twice as large as Marshall.
Maggie Kenworthy said she was 23 weeks pregnant and she and her husband have decided she will be a stay-at-home mom. “There’s no quality day care or it’s too expensive,” she said. “Kosciusko County will be losing a college-educated, income-contributing citizen.”
Parker said, in the long run, all he and Searles are asking for is consideration of a change in the zoning requirements for child care as the county’s ordinances exceed state law.
Area Plan Director Dan Richard said his staff could come up with a few ideas to bring before the BZA, too.
Area Plan Commission Chairman Dr. Lee Harman said he would be willing to serve on a committee toward that goal.
The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission meeting Wednesday began with a final plat approval, with conditions, as requested by Glenn Hlutke.
At the April meeting, a drainage survey was requested, but did not accompany this petition to divide a 9.95-acre tract of ground on the east side of CR 950E in Tippecanoe Township into four lots.
Glenn and Jennifer Hlutke were in attendance and Jennifer said their engineer is working on the drainage survey. That survey must reach the planning office prior to any further developments on the property.
Case No. 21007Z, filed by Edd Allen, to rezone ground from a residential district to a commercial district was continued from April, reintroduced Wednesday and denied by the Plan Commission. The item will now move to the Pierceton Town Council for a final decision.
The property is on the east side of Mill Street, south of U.S. 30.
Andrew Rosell, of AR Engineering, appeared for the owner and did not bring an ingress-egress study as requested in April, nor a drainage study and water mitigation plan.
Rosell said as far as traffic concerns go, he spoke with an Indiana Department of Transportation manager who said Mill Street would remain open, if and when any expansion of U.S. 30 took place.
He conceded that drainage was of concern and Pierceton Utilities Superintendent Casey Boggs was aware of the issue. He said an on-site water retention plan has been developed and the prospective buyers would work with the town.
County surveyor Mike Kissinger said his office has been aware of the water problem in this low-laying area for years and has never been able to come up with a solution.
Plan Commission member Larry Coplen said maybe the reason the area has never been developed is because of the existing drainage issues.
Richard also pointed out that AR Engineering was involved with another project, the Dollar General site in Syracuse. Instead of making the entrance as far away from Ind. 13 as possible, as requested by Area Plan, the entrance is as close to Ind. 13 as can be.
Rosell said the County Highway Department approved it. Richard said, yes, they did approve it, but this board did not.
Rosell said these studies cost thousands of dollars and it wasn’t something the developer especially wanted to invest in before the rezoning was approved.
A Pierceton resident noted that it’s possible a semi-tractor-trailer could end up parking on Mill Street before making a delivery. If another semi wanted to exit U.S. 30, onto Mill Street, it could be a problem.
Kenneth Ousley said he lives south of the proposed site and he considers it too small for a 100-foot by 100-foot building with customer parking and a delivery lane.
Harman said the site just isn’t suitable and suggested the town could deal with the matter further.
The decision to deny the rezoning was unanimous.
The commissioners held a hearing for the Agriculture Disclaimer Acknowledgement Form. There were no public comments.
The form, once approved by the commissioners, will accompany all permit applications and be recorded and cross-referenced. The property owner signing the form acknowledges there are one or more inconveniences or discomforts encountered in an agricultural area and the signees are willing to accept them as a normal and necessary aspect of living in the country near farms or agricultural operations.
A petition filed by Robert and Phyllis Swanson for preliminary plat approval on a 1.70-acre tract of ground was continued, as was the vacation of property requested by Michael Irving, 544 EMS D15 Lane.
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