Clinton County hearing approves United Way special exception to run Class 3 daycare in agricultural zone

At a Clinton County public hearing, planning staff recommended and the panel approved a special-exception permit allowing the United Way of Flint County to operate a Class 3 daycare on an agriculturally zoned property.

Planning staff member Liz explained the request and the site: a five-acre parcel on the west side of West Mulberry–Jefferson Road in Washington Township that includes the operating Cornerstone Assembly of God church. The application sought a Class 3 daycare special exception under the Unified Development Ordinance; staff noted eight supplemental development standards that apply to day care centers under section 5.11 of the ordinance.

The panel moved to approve application CCDash2025Dash00214 (docket 08-25-SE) “according to the staff report,” and the motion received a second. The hearing record shows the motion carried and the special exception was granted; the transcript does not record a roll-call tally by name.

Staff noted there was no additional information from the petitioner at the hearing and no extended public opposition recorded in the meeting transcript. The approval incorporates the staff report findings and the ordinance criteria for day-care special exceptions; the staff presentation referenced the Unified Development Ordinance, section 5.11, as the standard-setting authority.

The decision allows the petitioner organization to seek any required building or operational permits that follow zoning approval; staff did not state additional site-specific conditions beyond conformance with the supplemental development standards referenced in the staff report.

Record-keeping and next steps: the action in the hearing file is recorded as an approval of the special-exception request; permit issuance will depend on subsequent permit reviews and compliance with the identified ordinance standards.