Northwood News ♦ December 2010

Special Exception Requested for Child Day Care Center on Brunett

By Linda S. Perlman

Have you been wondering what is planned for the vacant lot on University Boulevard at Brunett Street, across from Rachel Carson Meadow? This 37,987-square-foot lot was formerly the site of a single-family residential house that also was used as the dental office of William T. Strahan. In May 2005, Dr. Strahan sold the property at 220 University Blvd. West to Dianne Kay for the sum of $860,000. Approximately seven months later, in December 2005, Dianne Kay transferred ownership of the property to Gilmoure-Brunett, LLC, a limited liability company which appears to have been formed, owned, and controlled by members of the Kay family.

The property is zoned R-60 (one-family residential), which permits a child day care facility only by special exception. The property is a square-shaped lot located on the south side of University Boulevard West (Md. Route 193), the east side of Brunett Avenue, and the north side of Gilmoure Drive. The adjacent properties are also in the R-60 zone, with single-family detached houses to the south and east and the Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist Temple to the west. The commercial district of Four Corners, at the University Blvd. and Colesville Road intersection, is approximately four blocks, or 1/4 mile, to the east of the property.

The first plans for the property involved the construction of five custom-built homes with the grandiose-name of “Estates at Four Corners.” The downturn in the housing market ended the “estate house” plans for the property and the former Strahan house-dental office was demolished in 2008.

The property owner, Gilmoure-Brunett, LLC, is now proposing a child day care facility on the property that will serve up to 120 children and employ 25 staff members. The day care operations will be handled by “Childway,” which operates three other child care centers in suburban Maryland. Gilmoure-Brunett, LLC, plans to construct an approximately 6,430-square-foot, one-story building on the property. In addition to the building, there will be a 20-space underground parking garage, 25 surface parking spaces in the front of the building facing Gilmoure Drive, an approximately 8,000-square-foot outside play area, and various landscaping and sidewalk improvements. Vehicular access to the child care center will be through a new driveway located on Gilmoure Drive, with a right-turn-only exit driveway on Brunett Avenue.

Three freestanding signs, one sign on each of the three street frontages of the property (i.e., University Blvd., Gilmoure Dr., and Brunett St.), are proposed to advertise and identify the day care center facility. This is in excess of the standard number of one permitted freestanding sign for a single lot in a residential zone and will require a sign variance to be granted subsequent to approval of a Special Exception.

Section 59-G-1.2.1 of the Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance sets forth certain general conditions for the approval of any special exception. These are findings that must be made, in addition to specific findings for a child day care facility use in Section 59-G-2.13.1 of the Zoning Ordinance. Section 59-G-1.2.1 specifies the standard for evaluation of applications for a special exception as follows:

A special exception must not be granted without the findings required by this Article. In making these findings, the Board of Appeals ... must consider the inherent and non-inherent adverse effects of the use on nearby properties and the general neighborhood at the proposed location.... Inherent adverse effects are the physical and operational characteristics necessarily associated with the particular use, regardless of its physical size or scale of operations. Inherent adverse effects alone are not a sufficient basis for denial of a special exception. Non-inherent adverse effects are physical and operational characteristics not necessarily associated with the particular use, or adverse effects created by unusual characteristics of the site. Non-inherent adverse effects, alone or in conjunction with inherent adverse effects, are a sufficient basis to deny a special exception.

The Land Planning Report (August 2010), prepared for Gilmoure-Brunett, LLC, in support of a special exception application admits that the proposed child day care facility will have the “typical inherent effects common to a day care facility, such as weekday traffic, building mass, outdoor play area(s), a concentration of youth and education/care-taking staff, parking, and occasional evening events....” The report admits no identifiable adverse non-inherent effects on nearby properties.

Child day care facilities are also subject to special exception specific standards and requirements pursuant to Section 59-G-2.13.1 of the Zoning Ordinance. These requirements include, but are not limited to, submission of a site plan showing the location of all buildings and structures, parking spaces, driveways, loading and unloading areas, play areas, and other uses, and the provision of landscaping and screening to protect surrounding properties from any adverse impacts resulting from the special exception use. In order to approve a special exception for a child care facility, there also must be a finding that “the use is compatible with surrounding uses and will not result in a nuisance because of traffic, parking, noise, or type of physical activity.”

Section 59-G-2.13.1(b)(2) further requires that a child care facility for 31 or more children in a single-family residential zone must be located on a lot containing at least 500 square feet per child. Here, the Childway Center proposes to serve a maximum of 120 children and the property has an area ratio of 316 square feet per child. This 500 square foot area requirement may be reduced to not less than 250 square feet, per child if the Board of Appeals finds that: (1) the facility will primarily serve children of an age range that require limited outdoor activity space; (2) the additional density will not adversely affect adjacent properties; (3) the additional traffic generated by the additional density will not adversely affect the surrounding streets; and (4) there are adequate provisions for the drop-off and pick-up of students.

The South Four Corners Citizens’ Association (SFCCA) represents residents of the area proposed for the Gilmoure-Brunett, LLC/Childway child care facility and SFCCA has voted to oppose the special exception application. As the NFCCA area is adjacent — across University Boulevard — from the proposed child care facility, the NFCCA Board voted to support the SFCCA’s opposition to the granting of Special Exception S-2781 for a child care facility.

The reasons advanced by SFCCA for opposing Gilmoure-Brunett, LLC’s application for a child care facility special exception application (S-2781) include the following:

The property is too small for the proposed child care facility use. A commercial day care center with up to 120 children and 25 staff in a 6,430-square-foot building, with a 20-space underground parking garage, 25 space surface front parking lot, and 8,000-square-foot outside play area is simply too big for this location.
At 6,430 square feet, the proposed child care facility building is not in scale with the surrounding residential houses. The building footprint is approximately eight times the size of the adjoining and confronting houses. The building itself is larger in square footage than many of the surrounding residential lots. The density and scale of the proposed development are not in harmony with the residential character of the neighborhood.
Although the property adjoins University Boulevard, the sole entrance to the day care facility is proposed to be on Gilmoure Street, a residential street. This will require all vehicles accessing the day care center to leave University Boulevard, a major roadway, and enter via residential neighborhood streets.
Increased nonresidential traffic from a commercial day care center is not compatible with the character of a quiet residential neighborhood and threatens public safety and quality of life. Traffic in the Four Corners area is congested and it is already not easy to get in and out of the neighborhood streets. The proposed child care facility will increase the volume of traffic on residential neighborhood streets, increase noise and pollution, and decrease pedestrian safety and access. The applicant’s proposed modifications to adjoining streets (such as curb bump outs and road chokes) do not address the core problem of introducing significant new nonresidential traffic onto neighborhood streets.
The applicant’s request to reduce the 500-square-foot requirement per child to accommodate a 60 percent increase in the number of children served is an operational non-inherent adverse effect of the approval of the special exception application. The increase in children allowed to be served by this child care facility, if the special exception application is approved as submitted, mandates a much larger building, staff, and parking than if the applicant were required to provide an area ratio of 500 square feet per child. The increase in children served by the facility will increase the volume of nonresidential traffic and adversely affect the health, safety, and general welfare of residents of the surrounding streets and neighborhoods.

The Petition of Gilmoure-Brunett, LLC, for a Child Care Facility Special Exception, Case Number S-2781, is tentatively scheduled to be heard before the Montgomery County Planning Board on Thursday, 16 December 2010, in the auditorium at 8787 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910; telephone 301.495.4605 (check the Planning Board agenda at www.montgomeryplanningboard.org for the exact date and time). A second scheduled hearing is before a hearing examiner of the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings, on Friday, 7 January 2011, at 9:30 a.m. in the Second Floor Hearing Room of the Stella B. Werner Council Office Building, 100 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD 20850; telephone 240.777.6660 (e-mail ozah@montgomerycountymd.gov for information). NFCCA members are encouraged to sign up to testify at these hearings or to submit letters of support or opposition to the case (reference: S-2781, Gilmoure-Brunett, LLC, Child Care). ■

Zoning and Special Exceptions

The Zoning Ordinance, adopted by the Montgomery County Council, defines and describes various zones and specifies the land uses that are permitted in each zone. Zoning establishes standards for the development and use of land in each zone, which limit density, location and height of buildings and structures, required setbacks from property lines, and other requirements.

Each zoning category specifies the uses of property that are permitted as a matter of right in that zone, such as a single-family residence in the R-60 Zone, and which uses of property are permitted by special exception. A special exception is a use of property allowed in a given zone if certain standards and conditions are met. A “child day care facility,” such as the proposed Childway child care center in South Four Corners, is an example of a land use allowed by special exception in the R-60 Zone. The applicant — Gilmoure-Brunett, LLC — applies for a special exception to the Board of Appeals. The Montgomery County Planning Board technical staff then reviews the application and issues a staff report to the Board of Appeals with the staff’s recommended conditions.

If the requested special exception has major impacts or is controversial, as here, then a hearing is held before the Montgomery County Planning Board (the Planning Board hearing on the special exception for the proposed child day care facility is currently scheduled for 16 December 2010). After the case has been heard by the Planning Board, the Planning Board sends a letter to the Board of Appeals setting forth the Planning Board’s comments on the proposed land use and its staff recommendation on the special exception application. The recommendations from both the Planning Board and its staff are advisory. A Hearing Examiner in the Office of Zoning and Administrative Hearings (OZAH) then hears the special exception case (the OZAH hearing on the special exception for the proposed child day care facility is currently scheduled for 7 January 2011) and compiles an official report for review by the Board of Appeals which issues the final decision on the special exception application. Any decision of the Board of Appeals may be appealed to the Circuit Court within 30 days of the effective date of the written decision.