Northwood News ♦ April 2012

Child Care Center Special Exception Request Recommended for Approval by Hearing Examiner

By Jim Zepp and Glen Richardson

The Board of Appeals Hearing Examiner has issued her report and has recommended approval of a zoning special exception request for a child day care center with a variety of conditions.  This is the zoning special exception request for the property located on Brunett Ave. between University Boulevard and Gilmourne Drive and facing the Nichiren Shoshu Myosenji Buddhist Temple.  A one-story, single family residence with a home dentist’s office previously occupied the site.

A developer purchased this property with the intent of building five $800,000 luxury homes.  When it became obvious, even to him, that this idea was impractical, the developer changed his plans to the construction of a child care facility for 150 children from infant to high school age.

Although this is not the result we had been hoping for, the approval with conditions represents a significant achievement for the Four Corners neighborhoods.  The developer’s original proposal for 150 children, 40 staff, and a building the size of Safeway has been cut in half.  If the neighbors had not contested the original application, there would be 200 automobiles entering and exiting the neighborhood twice a day.

The Hearing Examiner imposed a series of conditions to minimize the day care center’s impact on the neighborhood.  Among the conditions are limits on the number of children (76), limits on staff (15), limits on operating hours (7:00 a.m.–6:15 p.m.), and limits on evening activities.  The complete list of conditions begins on page 66 of the Hearing Examiner’s report.  The complete report can be viewed at:  www.montgomerycountymd.gov/ozah/resources/files/pdf/2012_reports/s-2781.pdf.  [Note:  URL has been updated since publication.]

The Board of Appeals (BOA) will now review and vote on the special exception.  The BOA may accept the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation with conditions, deny the recommendation, or return the recommendation for further study.  The schedule for the Board of Appeals has not been set.  We will continue to update the community as that process progresses and let you know what, if anything, the neighbors can do to help.

The South Four Corners Civic Association (SFCCA), through its attorney, has filed a request to present an oral argument when the BOA reviews the hearing examiner’s recommendation on the special exception.  The remaining concerns are as follows:

• Regardless of the adjustments that the developer has made in the project, it is still noncompliant with the recommendations in the Four Corners Master Plan, which specifically discouraged special exception requests in the residential areas adjacent to the Four Corners commercial district and along major highways.  The hearing examiner characterized this determination as being “a close question,” despite being a special exception request in a block next to the Safeway and is located on University Boulevard.

• Even though the approved building size is still three times larger than the majority of the homes near the proposed facility, five times bigger than the house next door, and twice as large as the Planning Board’s suggested size for the site, the hearing examiner considers the facility compatible with the residential area.

• Although a condition imposed by the hearing examiner is a traffic study to be done a year after the child care center is built to assess its impact, what is the remedy?  If the child care center is found to have worsened congestion in the Four Corners area, it is highly unlikely that the business would be shut down for this reason.

• The conditions on the special exception recommended by the hearing examiner can be easily removed by a subsequent request for administrative amendments, so the protections for the communities are of questionable value.

So this is an important issue for maintaining the future integrity of the Four Corners residential areas and the health of the commercial district.  The Four Corners Master Plan is the result of over two years of work, study, and discussions by area residents and MNCPPC staff, provides a vision of how future development should occur, and guidance for maintaining and enhancing the positive qualities of our communities.  The approval of this special exception will open the door for other requests in the residential areas bordering the Four Corners commercial district.  It would be a travesty of community planning to sweep this all away for the sake of one individual who made a very bad business decision.

[Richardson is president of the South Four Corners Civic Association.]   ■