Southington PZC Says 'Yes' To Revised Daycare Proposal

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Southington land-use officials this time were satisfied a proposed daycare facility being pitched on West Street addressed several safety issues.

As a result, the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission last week unanimously approved both a site plan and special permit for a 10,000-square-foot daycare center. Both votes were 7-0.

"Southington West St. LLC" out of Southington re-applied to the PZC for both special permit and site plan approvals to build the center on property owned by Southington-based Lovely Development Inc.

In January, the PZC rejected its application, citing safety concerns regarding vehicular ingress and egress of the site.

Those concerns, PZC members said March 7, were addressed during the second application.

"I commend the applicant for coming back and making the modifications," Southington PZC Chairman Robert Hammersley said prior to the vote. "I think it shows that you listened to what we said."

The development, which will be at 1268 West St. (Route 229), is in an area zoned residential, as the location was once the site of a single-family residence.

A day care facility called "The Learning Experience Academy of Early Education" will go there.

"The Learning Experience" is a Florida-based chain of "child development centers" with facilities throughout the country, including several in Connecticut.

It would serve children 6 weeks to 5 years old and offer afterschool care for children up to age 8. It will have a 5,000-square-foot playground and, now, 45 parking spaces.

The busy roadway combined with reservations about making left-hand turns there prompted significant worries from PZC members, who voted 5-2 on Jan. 3 against the plan.

The developers, however, made revisions since the initial application was shot down.

According to engineer Timoth A. Coon of Russo Surveyors and Engineers out of East Windsor, who is working for the applicant, multiple revisions have been made to improve safety.

They include, according to Coon:

• "Flipping" the site and moving the driveway to the southern end of the parcel, a move Coon said would add about 150 more feet of "sight distance" for motorists exiting the location.

• Moving the building back about 40 feet on the parcel, allowing for space to create a driveway "loop" there and allow for a one-way traffic pattern.

This, he said, adds space between the parking lot and the entrance and provides room for 14 cars to be able to quickly drop-off and pick-up children there.

PZC members had worried the prior configuration was too cramped and feared for the safety of children and parents coming and going during the day.

• Adding five more parking spaces to the site, upping it to 45.

• Reconfiguring the entrance to provide "unrestricted entry," but still featuring a right-turn exit only.

Speaking at the March 7 PZC meeting, Coon expressed confidence the changes addressed the concerns.

"We have come back with revisions to our plan which we believe address those concens," Coon said, later adding there are other daycare facilities in that part of town.

That prompted PZC member Peter Santago to remind Coon the presence of other daycares is not something a zoning board can take into consideration on applications.

"Everything almost always has to be independent legally," Santago said. "That said, I appreciate what you did here and I think, as you said, almost everything we talked about, you took care of here."

PZC member Christina Volpe agreed.

"Looking at it tonight, I do appreciate the concerns about how we're going to enter and exit this building," Volpe said later in the meeting. "It's better than how it was before. I do think that this model is a safer model than the one that was proposed to us."

During the public hearing, only two residents spoke and they were, generally, in favor.

But while nearby resident Tammy Balch on West Street said she didn't opppose the daycare operation, the traffic concerns didn't go away with the new application.

She said she fears turning left onto her driveway, worrying that traffic will have her stopped on the street looking to turn, where she could be rear-ended.

Said Balch: "I'm not necessarily opposed to the daycare. My biggest concern is traffic."

From March 5: 'Rejected Day Care Facility Back Before Southington Officials'