HomeMy WebLinkAbout2299 Land Use Regulations and Permit System for Child Daycare FacilitiesORDINANCE NO. 2299
AN ORDINANCE CREATING A NEW CHAPTER 17.32 OF THE
PORT TOWNSEND MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE
ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF CHILD DAY CARE
FACILITIES; ESTABLISHING LAND USE REGULATIONS AND A
PERMIT SYSTEM THEREFORE; AND ESTABLISHING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND IN REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLED, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Summary
This ordinance provides that:
family day care homes are an outright
permitted use in all residential zoning
districts. Family day care homes conducted
within an existing accessory building may be
permitted through an administrative review
process if found compatible with surrounding
uses;
mini-day care centers (located outside the
home of the provider) may be allowed by
administrative review, in residential zoning
districts, and are a permitted use in other
zones;
e
larger child day centers are allowed to locate
in residential zoning districts with a
conditional use permit.
SECTION 2. The Port Townsend Municipal Code is hereby amended to
add a new Chapter 17.32 to read as follows:
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Chapter.17,3~
mAY CAREFACILITIES
Sections:
17.32.010 Purpose.
17.32.020 Definitions.
17.32.030 Family Day Care Homes.
17.32.040 Child Mini-Day Care Centers.
17.32.050 Child Day Care Centers.
17.32.060 Registration.
17.32.070 Conflicting Provisions.
~7.32.0t0 purpose,. The city Council finds that affordable,
good quality, and licensed child day care within the City of Port
Townsend is critical to the well-being of parents and children in the
community and is a needed community service° Further, it is the purpose
of this ordinance to facilitate the siting of licensed child day care
facilities in the city of Port Townsend in a manner which simplifies the
review and approval process while ensuring conformance with the
surrounding land uses.
1~,32.020 Definitions., For the purpose of this ordinance,
unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and Phrases
used in this ordinance are defined as follows:
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"Child Day Care" means the provision of supplemental parental care
and supervision
2.
3.
4.
for a non-related child or children,
on a regular basis,
for less than 24 hours a day, and
under license by the Washington State
Social and Health Services.
Department of
As used in this ordinance, the term is not intended to include
babysitting services of a casual, non-recurring nature or in the
child's own home. Likewise, the term is not intended to include
cooperative, reciprocative child care by a group of parents in
their respective homes.
"Child Day Care Facility" means a building or structure in which an
agency, person, or persons regularly provide care for a group of
children for periods of less than 24 hours a day. Child day care
facilities include family day care homes, out-of-home child mini-
day care centers, and child day care centers regulated by the
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, as
presently defined and hereafter amended. (RCW 74.15, WAC 388-73-
422).
De
"Day Care Facility" means an agency regularly providing care
for a group of children for periods of less than 24 hours. It
includes the following subcategories:
"Family Day Care Home" means a day care home for
the care of 10 or fewer children, located in the
family dwelling of the provider.
"Mini-day Care Center" means a day care facility
for the care of 12 or fewer children in a facility
other than the family dwelling of the person(s)
providing the care.
"Day Care Center" provides for the care of 13 or
more children. If located in a private family
residence, the portion where the children have
access must be separate from the family living
quarters, or that portion where the children have
access must be exclusively used for their care
during the hours that the child day care is
operating.
"Pre-school" means a non-residential, teacher instructed,
curriculum-based educational program of under 4 hours daily
duration. Pre-schools have no State licensing procedure. For
the purposes of this ordinance, pre-schools shall be
considered equivalent to "Mini-day Care Center" or "Day Care
Center" dependent on the number of children served.
17,32.030 Family Day Care HOmes.,
A family day care home shall be permitted by right in all
zoning districts permitting residences, except where located
in an existing accessory building which shall require
administrative review and approval as provided in paragraph B
below, and shall be subject to the following requirements:
The home shall meet Washington State child day care
licensing requirements;
The home shall comply with all building, fire safety,
health code, and business licensing requirements;
Lot size, building size, setbacks, and lot coverage shall
conform to the standards of the zoning district in which
the facility is located except if the structure is a
legal nonconforming structure;
4. A safe passenger loading area shall be provided;
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5. Signage, if any, shall conform to Section 17.50 of the
Port Townsend Municipal Code (PTMC);
6. The operator of the home shall file a child day care
registration form with the City as provided for in
Section 17.32.060 of this Chapter;
7. No structural or decorative alteration which will alter
the single-family character of an existing or proposed
residential structure or be incompatible with surrounding
residences is permitted.
A family day care home may be permitted to be located in an
existing accessory building if it conforms with all of the
requirements of paragraph A above and receives an
administrative review and approval under the process specified
below:
i. Notics, Notice of the proposal shall be given as provided
below:
ao Notices shall be posted on site and in two (2) other
conspicuous locations in the vicinity of the site at least ten (10)
calendar days prior to final action on the application;
b. The notice shall include a description of the
proposal, site location, deadline for submitting written comments,
and the address and phone number of the Planning Department of the
City of Port Townsend.
2. Administrative Review Requirements. The Planning Director
shall review applications for family day care homes located in
existing accessory buildings in R-IA, R-I, R-II and R-III zoning
districts and may approve, modify, or deny the application subject
to the following provisions:
a. The proposed use must be compatible with the
surrounding uses;
b. In the Director's evaluation s/he shall consider:
Current traffic volumes of the subject streets and the
capacity of the existing road network
ii.
Conformance of the subject streets with City Street
Standards (Section 12.04 PTMC);
iii. Conformance of the subject streets with emergency vehicle
access standards
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c. The site must be landscaped in a manner compatible
with adjacent residences;
d. If the Planning Director, in reviewing the
application or comments received, identifies sufficient issues
regarding compatibility of the use with surrounding development a
public hearing may be called to receive testimony after publication
and posting of a notice of public hearing on the site at least ten
days prior to such hearing;
e. The Planning Director may grant, deny or grant the
permit with conditions reasonably necessary to reduce conflicts
between the family day care facility and the surrounding
neighborhood. The conditions may provide for, but shall not be
limited to, noise attenuation, special parking needs and, hours of
operation.
f. An appeal of the administrative decision of the
Director may be filed by an aggrieved party under the procedures
for administrative appeals contained in Chapter 1.14 of the Port
Townsend Municipal Code.
17.32.040 Child Mini-Day Care Centers~
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Child Mini-Day Care Center (not located in the residence of
the care providerS. A child mini-day care center not located
in the residence of the care provider is allowed in the
designated zoning districts as follows:
.Zoning Districts (R-IA, R-I, R-II, and R-III]. A child
mini-day care center not located in the residence of the
care provider may be permitted by Administrative Review.
Notice. Notice of the proposal shall be given as
provided below:
1)
Notices shall be posted on site and in two (2)
other conspicuous locations in the vicinity of
the site at least ten (10) calendar days prior
to final action on the application;
2)
The notice shall include a description of the
proposal, site location, deadline for
submitting written comments, and the address
and phone number of the Planning Department of
the City of Port Townsend.
Administrative Review R~quirements. The Planning
Director shall review applications for a mini-day
care center not located in the residence of the
care provider in R-IA, R-I, R-II, and R-III zoning
districts and may approve, modify, or deny the
application subject to the following requirements:
1)
The mini-day care center shall meet Washington
State child care licensing requirements;
2)
The mini-day care center shall comply with all
building, fire safety, health code, and
business licensing requirements;
3)
Signage, if any, shall conform to the
requirements of Section 17.50 of the Port
Townsend Municipal Code);
The operator of the mini-day care center shall
file a child day care registration form with
the city as provided for in Section 17.32.060
7 of this Chapter;
5)
Parking requirements shall conform to Section
17.30 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code;
6)
The site must be landscaped in a manner
compatible with adjacent residences;
7)
No structural or decorative alteration which
will alter the residential character of an
existing residential structure used for a
child mini-day care center shall be permitted.
Any new or remodeled structure must be
designed to be compatible with the residential
character of the surrounding neighborhood;
8)
The child mini-day care center shall not be
located within 300 feet of another child mini-
day care center not located in the residence
of the care provider or of another child day
care center. Any child day care center which
is an accessory use pursuant to Section
17.32.050D of this Chapter shall be excluded
from these dispersion requirements;
9)
The Planning Director may attach reasonable
conditions to the permit in order to reduce
conflicts between the child mini-day care
center and the surrounding neighborhood~ such
as, but not limited to, requirements for
noise attenuation, special parking needs, and
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limitations regarding hours of operation;
10)
If the Planning Director finds, after review
of the application and any comments received,
that there is sufficient reason to be
concerned regarding the compatibility of the
child mini-day care center that a public
hearing would be beneficial in making a final
determination regarding a permit application,
final review of the application shall be
conducted through the Conditional Use Permit
process and shall be subject to the
requirements of Section 17.32.050A(1) of this
Chapter and Chapter 17.64 of the Port Townsend
Municipal Code;
The process used to appeal an Administrative Review
decision is contained in Chapter 1.14 of the Port
Townsend Municipal Code (appeal of administrative
decisions).
2. Ail Other Zoning Districts. A child mini-day
care center not located in the residence of
the care provider is permitted by right in all
other zoning districts provided the
requirements set forth in parts bCl) through
b(7) of this Chapter are met.
~7,32.050. Child Day Care Centers. A child day care center, as
defined by state law, may be allowed in designated zoning
districts as follows:
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Zoning Districts (R-IA, R-I, R-II, and R-III). A child day
care center may be allowed in these zoning districts only upon
issuance of a conditional use permit pursuant to Section 17.64
of the Port Townsend Municipal Code.
1. Conditional.Use Permit Requirements.
The child day care center shall meet Washington
State child day care licensing requirements;
The child day care center shall comply with all
building, fire safety, health code, and business
licensing requirements;
Ce
Lot size, building size, setbacks and lot coverage
shall conform to those applicable to the zoning
district;
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Signage, if any, shall conform to the requirements
for the applicable zoning district;
Se
The operator of the child day care center shall
file a child day care registration form with the
City as provided for in Section 17.32.060 of this
Chapter;
fe
Parking requirements shall conform to Section 17.30
of the Port Townsend Municipal Code;
A fence at least (4) feet high must be installed
around the play yard;
The site must be landscaped in a manner compatible
with adjacent residences;
No structural or decorative alteration which will
alter the residential character of an existing
residential structure used for a child day care
center is permitted. Any new or remodelled
structure must be designed to be compatible with
the residential character of the surrounding
neighborhood.
The child day care center shall not be located
within 300 feet of another child day care center or
child mini-day care center not located in the
residence of the care provider, excluding any child
day care center which is an accessory use pursuant
to Section 17.32.050D of this Chapter.
Re
In the Directors evaluation he shall
consider:
Current traffic volumes of the subject
streets and the capacity of the existing
road network
ii.
Conformance of the subject streets with
city Street Standards (Section 12.04
PTMC);
iii Conformance of the subject streets with
emergency vehicle access standards
AI~. Other Zoning Districts. A child day care center is
permitted by right in all other zoning districts subject to
the following requirements:
The child day care center shall meet Washington
State child day care licensing requirements;
The child day care center shall comply with all
building, fire safety, traffic safety, health code,
and business licensing requirements;
Setbacks, screening, landscaping, lot size,
building size, and lot coverage shall conform to
the pertinent portions of the zoning code;
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Parking requirements shall conform to Section 17.30
of the Port Townsend Municipal Code;
The operator of a child day care center shall file
a child day care registration form with the city as
provided for in Section 17.32.060 of this Chapter.
Limitations in USe of a Family Residence.. No child day care
center shall be located in a private family residence unless
the portion of the residence to which the children have access
is used exclusively for the children during the hours the
center is in operation, or is separate from the usual living
quarters of the family.
ACcessory Use. A child day care center, if sited on the
premises of an operating community service facility Shall be
considered accessory to the principal use of the property
concerned.
17.32.060 Registration. Each child day care service provider must
register with the City Planning Department by completing a child
day care registration for as provided by the department prior to
initiation of the use. Upon registration, the child day care
provider must be able to demonstrate compliance with the applicable
conditions of this ordinance.
17.32.070 Conflicting Provisions.,.. In the event of conflict between
this ordinance and any other ordinance or zoning provision for the
City of Port Townsend, the provisions of this ordinance shall
prevail.
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SECTION 3. Effective Date
This ordinance shall take effect and be in force five days (5)
days after the date of its publication in the manner provided by
law.
PASSED by the Council of
Washington, at a regular meeting
this 18 day of May, 1992.
the City
of Port Townsendf
APPROVED by the Mayor
Attest:
David A. Grove, Clerk/Treasurer
Dennis McLerran, city Attorney
Clise, Mayor
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