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Commissioner Allen stated that she also believes that this is the wrong spot for a large family daycare, primarily for two reasons found in the City code: (1) Traffic. She indicated that in order to approve a large family daycare, the Commission needs to find that there is no traffic issue, and there clearly is a traffic issue which also results in a potential safety issue when cars are backing up on this street with no sidewalks. She added that this is a real concern. (2) Parking scarcity. She stated that everything she has heard from staff observations, from the 12 letters and phone calls, and from the feedback tonight is that parking has been an issue for a long time and continues to be an issue. She added that to increase the number of children beyond what is allowed, the Commission would have to find that there is plenty of parking, and there is nothing she has heard that would validate that there is a lot of extra parking and that parking is not an issue. She noted that she cannot find anything contrary to what staff has recommended based on their observations as well as neighbors' feedback. She added that the applicant stated that there are only three or four parents dropping -off their children. She indicated that she cannot find that it makes sense to have a large family daycare and supports staff's recommendation to deny this proposal. Commissioner Balch stated that he echoes a little bit of what his prior two Commissioners have voiced. He indicated that his biggest concern is actually the square footage, which he believes is not enough square footage for ten children. He calculated that on inclement weather days, there would theoretically be ten children in 337 square feet, which would basically be 33 square feet per child, and he personally finds that difficult and an issue. He added that, as he clarified with staff earlier, no State law prohibits it, although that might be where rubber meets the road. Commissioner Balch stated that he does not believe the applicant has any quality of education issues at all, and it sounds like they are dedicated and well intentioned to provide a good education, so he wants to encourage that. He indicated, however, that he also knows that these alleyways have two -story buildings, they are narrow and difficult to navigate one's vehicle on. He added that he has personally been in the complex area and knows the alleyways, and it is bit of a double -edge for him. He stated that in his opinion, everybody wants childcare in areas with low traffic, with fencing, and some other things. He noted that this is a quiet street, but it is also a blind alleyway. He indicated that he agrees with Commissioners Ritter and Allen that it is not the right spot for this many children. Chair O'Connor stated that he agrees with what the other Commissioners have said and so he does not want to repeat everything. He indicated that his major concern is two -fold: one is the size of the space that ten children would have; and the other and biggest concern is the site map, the location, and the type of development. He stated that he once owned something very similar, and he went out to the project site and the streets are just about as wide with no sidewalks and very difficult to navigate. He noted that it would be easy if there were a garage vehicles can pull into and turn around; however, with coming down this street and having to back out to get out of it, the narrowness of the street, the number of units that are in the proximity, and the number of cars that might be coming and going morning and evening, he just does not find this to be as safe as it should be. He PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, July 9, 2014 Page 11 of 14