City seeks child care fixes

April 08--TRAVERSE CITY -- Christine Bazzett said she has pushed for Traverse City to ease its zoning requirements for childcare providers for years.

Bazzett, who owns group day care home Joyful Noise on East State Street, said she's glad to hear city planning commissioners are considering dropping special land use permit requirements for homes like hers located in residential districts. Group daycare homes can take in up to 12 children -- she currently takes in up to six.

But Bazzett can't figure out why the city would keep its spacing requirement, as planning commissioners discussed at their recent meeting. Current zoning rules limit group daycare homes in residential areas to one per 1,500 feet. Commissioners discussed dropping that to 500 feet, but even that seems "stupid" to Bazzett.

"Not everyone is going to be rushing to get these licenses just because they loosen the restrictions," she said. "It's a hard, hard job with low pay and not a lot of people want to do it, so they shouldn't be discouraging anybody who wants to."

Removing those special land use permit requirements is one of a handful of changes commissioners weighed at a recent meeting. They're seeking ways they can help alleviate a critical shortage of child care in Traverse City.

Planning and Engineering Assistant Missy Luick said the city could still adopt rules similar to what a special land use permit requires of a group child care home, but looser. They would also drop inspection requirements that only duplicate what the state requires before it issues a child care facility license.

Dropping the permitting requirement would spare anyone trying to start such homes from having to go through the lengthy and somewhat costly special land use permitting process, Luick said.

Lindsay Smith, who runs a family child care home on 11th Street, said the change could encourage other family child care home owners to seek a group child care home license. That would allow them to take in up to six more kids, provided they employ an assistant -- family child care homes are limited to six.

"I know for other providers, I think that could definitely help the situation just knowing that would be an easier process," she said.

Another suggested change would allow child care organizations, a broad category encompassing places like nursery schools, day care centers, preschools and more, in more zoning districts, including the lowest-density commercial district, Luick said.

Luick said there are 19 licensed child care providers within city limits. Twelve of those are family child care homes.

A few other proposals would clarify city zoning, including specifying that family childcare homes are allowed in one-family residential zones, Luick said. State law already designates them as residential uses. The proposals also would codify child care organizations as accessory uses at schools and places of worship in one-family residential districts, which is how zoning officials currently interpret the ordinance.

Planning department staff will craft a draft amendment for planning commissioners to consider at their May 1 meeting, Luick said. Commissioners could then set the amendment for a public hearing.

Planning commission Chairperson Linda Koebert gave one example of how the child care shortage is impacting new moms. Koebert's physical therapist got on a waiting list when she was pregnant, and waited 17 months to get a spot.

Smith said her own experiences prompted her to become a provider. She's a former teacher, but quit after having her third baby and realizing that her total care costs would essentially outstrip her teacher's salary.

"I think there is definitely a need to help, because if we don't have parents work because they can't find licensed child care, then that's a workforce issue too, so I think anything that can help will be beneficial," she said.

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