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Planning commission to research zoning change to allow daycare reuse on Olive Boulevard
Summary
The Planning & Community Development Commission directed staff to research ordinance changes that would permit child day care facilities in smaller, existing Olive Boulevard buildings and to return with draft language and a map of qualifying properties.
The Planning & Community Development Commission asked staff on Aug. — to research potential zoning changes that would allow child day care centers to occupy smaller, existing commercial buildings on Olive Boulevard instead of requiring new, larger parcels.
Carlos, a city planning staff member, told commissioners the 80,000-square-foot threshold currently used in the city’s zoning regime is “a typical zoning number that’s used. It’s 2 acres,” and said the figure is intended to steer certain uses to larger sites and to reflect the city’s strategic plan. He also noted the city uses an even larger 120,000-square-foot tier for other categories.
The change matters because property owners and residents raised the idea of reusing a vacant Olive Boulevard building for day care, and several speakers said the neighborhood has a shortage of child care. Commissioner Sam Wallach and others asked staff to return with specific ordinance language and comparative examples from nearby municipalities, and to produce a map showing which properties would qualify under a narrowed amendment.
Why it matters: local parents and providers told the commission that long wait lists and distant drives are creating hardship. Stephanie, a resident who spoke during public comment, said, “I have a 2 year old grandson in New City. They are on so many wait list, and they have to drive now 30 minutes one way to the day care.” Mike Costello added, “There’s a huge need for day care in this whole area.” Those remarks came during the commission’s public-comment period on the topic.
Discussion highlights and constraints: staff emphasized that changing the zoning threshold would not remove other state and local requirements. Carlos said applicants would still need to meet building, fire and state licensing standards and recommended an early meeting with the fire marshal to verify circulation and emergency access. A staff member noted that “there’s probably other sites” to consider and that any change should be narrowly tailored to child day care to avoid unintended consequences for other Olive Boulevard uses.
Process options: commissioners discussed two paths. One option, favored by staff, is for the commission to request staff research and draft an ordinance amendment, review it, and forward a recommendation to the city council. Carlos said a petitioner could also pay for a text-amendment application and submit draft language to accelerate the timeline, but that the commission cannot authorize a use until any code amendment is adopted.
Operational concerns raised included parking and traffic circulation, the minimum indoor and outdoor square footage per child used in licensing, and the effect of changing lot-size thresholds citywide. Commissioners asked staff to return with examples of ordinance language and size criteria from University City, Clayton and Creve Coeur so the commission could compare standards.
Next steps: the commission placed research and draft language on its work list and asked staff to prepare a property-qualification map and sample ordinance language for a future meeting. There was no formal vote to adopt code changes at the meeting; the commission’s action was a directive to staff to research options and report back.
