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Rush Valley planning commission approves household daycare conditional use permit for up to 8 children
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Commission approved a conditional use permit allowing Tessa Sorensen to operate a state‑licensed home daycare at 98 North Main Street, capped at eight nonresident children; the commission declined to require a traffic survey but added operational restrictions.
The Rush Valley Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 6 voted to approve a conditional use permit allowing Tessa Sorensen to operate a home daycare at 98 North Main Street, with a condition that no more than eight nonresident children be cared for on the premises.
The permit approval followed a conversation about neighborhood traffic, parking and whether the town should require a traffic survey. Sorensen told the commission she is already licensed by the state and has conducted both a fire inspection and a Tooele County health inspection. “I am licensed with the state currently,” she said, and added she does not plan to enlarge her operation beyond what she said she could handle.
Commissioners said they were mindful of the town’s past requirement for a traffic survey for a daycare on a narrow road but concluded the present site—a wider, busier county road with room in the backyard for a turnaround—did not require the same analysis. Commissioner Scott Hawkins noted the earlier Johnson Lane case had different road geometry and traffic concerns, while other commissioners said a survey should be required only if neighbors express concerns at a public hearing. The commission agreed not to require a traffic survey at this time.
The commission also specified operational conditions intended to reduce street impacts: no on‑street parking for the daycare, and a stipulation that vehicles must use the property turnaround rather than backing onto the road. The commission instructed staff to include language on the permit that drop‑offs should avoid backing into the street.
Commissioners recorded that Sorensen currently cares for four fee‑paying children (three full time and one part time) in addition to her own two children and that the town definition for daycare counts only nonfamily children toward the conditional‑use threshold. Sorensen said state licensing would allow up to eight children including her own children if some are over age four; the commission capped local permission at eight nonfamily children to align with her state permit but noted she must return for review if she later seeks to expand beyond that cap.
The permit approval was proposed by Commissioner Carl Wall and seconded by Commissioner Scott Hawkins; the motion carried with commissioners present voting in favor.
The commission clarified the local fees and next steps: Sorensen was told to submit a recorded parcel map with dimensions from the county recorder, and that town staff requires a $50 conditional‑use permit fee and a $30 business license fee for processing. The business license itself is issued by the town but the state childcare license is separate and Sorensen said the state requires inspections and recurring certification for her operation.
The commission emphasized that any change in the operation—adding children beyond the permitted maximum or changes to drop‑off/pickup practices—would require Sorensen to reapply and return to the commission for reconsideration.
Sorensen thanked the commission for moving her application onto the agenda and said she would provide the requested county parcel printout and the fee payment so the town can finalize the permit.
