PC 03/27/1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner Wright asked if the children will be there all day in the summer. Ms. Whitbeck agreed they would be there all day in the summer. Jeff Walker, 553 Bonita Avenue, expressed support for the application. He said Ms. Whitbeck takes care of one of his children and he is very pleased with her. Kim McLaughlin, a resident of Ventana Hills, said as a working mother she supports the applicant, even though Ms. Whitbeck is not taking care of any of her children. She did not think there would be a problem with the children using the park as they are always supervised. She felt any problems at the park came from unsupervised children. She felt it would be a shame to limit child care as providers are badly needed. Jane Horton, 830 Independence Court, expressed opposition to the child care facility. She said that the petition was taken in Ventana Hills; out of 129 homes, 90 home owners were polled. Of those polled 83.3% were in opposition to the day care facility, with 6.6% in favor; 2.2% declined to vote. Ms. Horton said she felt Ms. Whitbeck should not be allowed a child care facility because she thought she is not in the home 80% of the time when the children are there, as per State requirements. This would require her to secure employees. If approved, she would want Ms. Whitbeck to meet all the requirements of the State; she would also want Ms. Whitbeck to escort the children to the school-bus stop; remain with them until they boarded the bus; meet the children when they return from school and escort them to the family day care facility. She felt the day care facility does not properly address the summer schedule for the children and thought they could not play in the park all day. That would put them in the back yard and under the Heritage Oak tree part of the day, which would be very noisy for those homes surrounding Ms. Whitbeck's home. She was also concerned that the adjoining properties would decline in value with a day care so close. Commissioner Horan asked Ms. Horton if she has documentation from the State regarding her comment about the provider having to be present 80% of the operating hours. Ms. Horton did not have that information with her, but said she spoke to Elaine Arrington of the State Department. Commissioner Wright asked Ms. Horton if she has children who go to catch the bus and if she stays there until the bus leaves. Ms. Horton says she has children who catch the bus, but watches from the corner until the bus leaves. Len Zurich, 812 Independence Ct., said his residence backs up to the day care facility. He said Ms. Whitbeck has only lived at the residence three, not four, months as stated in the report. He said she has operated without a permit during that time, even though she has operated a day care before and knows the rules. He felt that traffic would be a problem; in addition, there is a Heritage tree on the MINUTES PLANNING COMMISSION MARCH 27, 1991 Page 11