Hearing examiner recommends approval for Brighthaven childcare conditional-use permit

The Oak Harbor hearing examiner heard a conditional-use permit application on Oct. 12, 2025, from Brighthaven Childcare Center to operate a childcare facility at 890 Southeast Bayshore Drive, with an outdoor play area on the adjacent lot (case 2409-0055). Staff recommended approval and the examiner said a written decision will be issued within 10 business days.

The hearing’s staff presentation was given by Ray Lisonbee, senior planner for the City of Oak Harbor, who said the application includes indoor classroom space sized according to state rules and an outdoor play area measured under the city’s code. Lisonbee noted staff’s interpretation that outdoor play-space requirements could be based on the number of children using the area at one time instead of total enrollment. He said staff planned to propose a municipal code change deferring square-footage requirements to state standards and, pending that change, recommended wording that the daycare be limited to “the number of children allowed by Oak Harbor Municipal Code and state standards.”

Applicant Gliza Price told the hearing examiner she and her husband, Patrick Price, propose to transition from a home daycare to a commercial center. “The outdoor play area is designed to meet safety standards and city codes with cedar play chips, a privacy fence, and staggered use by no more than 11 children at any given time,” Price said. She said the proposed hours are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with outdoor play typically beginning about 10 a.m. and a 20–30 minute session in the afternoon.

Adjacent condominium owners submitted a written comment raising concerns about fencing, wood chips and noise. Lisonbee said the applicant will install a fence and that cedar play chips are a common playground surface; he added that state childcare inspectors also review safety standards. The staff report lists exhibits including the application materials, zoning and vicinity map, public notice documents and public comment, and the examiner admitted the staff report and exhibits into the record.

No members of the public signed up to speak on this application. After hearing from staff and the applicant, the hearing examiner closed the public hearing and said he would add a condition limiting outdoor-play hours consistent with the city’s noise ordinance. The examiner said the record will remain the basis for the final determination and that the written decision will be mailed within the city’s usual 10-business-day timeframe.

The record includes a corrected applicant mailing address noted by staff: 2415 Southwest Navigator Loop (the correction applies to the applicant’s address on file, not the project site).