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Florence BZA denies special-exception permit for home daycare on Damon Drive after neighbor safety concerns
Summary
The Florence City Board of Zoning Appeals denied a special-exception (use permit) request to operate a home daycare on Damon Drive after neighbors raised traffic, driveway and safety concerns. The applicant, Miss Perry, said she follows Department of Social Services rules and cares for six children but the board voted to deny the permit.
The Florence City Board of Zoning Appeals voted to deny a special-exception use permit for a proposed home daycare on Damon Drive after multiple nearby residents told the board they were concerned about traffic, driveway access and safety.
Neighbors described the one-block stretch of Damon Drive as narrow and largely without on-street parking and said they frequently walk and bicycle in the area. "It's rare," one longtime resident said of vehicles parked on that block, and several residents noted the bottleneck created by the street layout and nearby entrances and exits.
Applicant Miss Perry told the board she has a degree and experience in early childhood education and said safety is her top priority. She said she currently cares for six children and cited Department of Social Services regulations on caregiver-to-child ratios, telling the board that, depending on ages, a single caregiver can be permitted to supervise up to 17 children under state rules. "Safety is my highest priority," Perry said, adding she would supervise children in the backyard and keep them away from the street.
Residents pushed back on neighborhood fit and property-value concerns. One resident said he has lived in the area about 15 years and worried that a noncommercial daycare in a single-family residential block would change the neighborhood character and increase traffic. Several residents noted elderly family members who walk nearby and children who bicycle on the street.
After public comment, the board chair moved to deny the special-exception use approval; Miss Moses seconded the motion. A member voiced opposition on record, but the chair said the ayes carried the motion and announced the permit denial. The chair praised Perry's intent but said the proposed location was "the wrong place at the wrong time." The board did not adopt findings of fact for this item; the chair described this hearing as a straight up-or-down vote for a special exception.
The board closed this portion of the hearing and moved on to other agenda items.
