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Board approves rezoning and conditional-use permit to expand Salem Road daycare to commercial center
Summary
The Newton County Board of Commissioners approved rezoning and a conditional use permit to convert a home at 5242 Salem Road into a commercial child daycare center; owner Gladys Lee told the board she already cares for special-needs children and said fire marshal and environmental health have approved the site for about 30 persons
The Newton County Board of Commissioners voted to rezone 5242 Salem Road from R-2 single-family residential to Neighborhood Commercial (CN) and approved a companion conditional-use permit to operate a child daycare center with more than six children.
Owner Gladys Lee, who addressed the board during the hearing, said she currently operates an in-home daycare and that “the fire marshal and environmental health” have approved the location for “about 30 kids right now,” a figure she said includes staff. Lee told the board she has provided childcare for about 18 years, including special-needs children, and plans to convert the existing house to a commercial daycare facility so she can care for more children.
Planning staff described the parcel as 5.14 acres in the Salem Overlay Tier 2, within the Yellow River watershed and Commissioner District 4. The existing home is 3,293 square feet; staff said the site includes a 4-foot fenced play area and an access drive that provides off-street queuing for drop-off, and recommended approval subject to enumerated conditions tied to the Salem overlay and state licensing.
The board approved both the rezoning (REZ25-00002) and the conditional use permit (CUP25-00009) with staff-recommended conditions. Those conditions include maintaining compliance with Division 460 (Salem Overlay) and section 510-210 of the Newton County zoning ordinance, limiting total occupants to the occupancy determined by the Newton County Fire Marshal, providing a Right From the Start state license prior to issuance of a county business license, annual fire inspections and environmental health approval as applicable, an approved fenced play area before business-license issuance, and appropriate ingress/egress approved by GDOT.
Commissioners heard no opposition during the public hearing. The planning commission had recommended approval of the rezoning at its September hearing. The board’s motion to approve carried unanimously as recorded in the meeting transcript.
The transcript records a question from the petitioner about a staff condition concerning hiring and training (10 hours of training was referenced); staff clarified this relates to Right From the Start/license requirements normally documented before issuing a county business license.
The board did not place additional conditions beyond those listed by staff in the record.
