Planning commission continues hearing on ABC Kids expansion after historic-façade concern

The Fillmore City Planning Commission on an evening hearing continued consideration of a proposal to expand ABC Kids preschool and daycare at 808 River Street to Nov. 19, 2025, after staff reported newly surfaced questions about the building's potential historic character and recommended additional review.

Brian McCarthy, senior city planner, told the commission the project would remodel an existing former church converted to childcare and add a new 6,351-square-foot classroom building, reconfigure circulation, add playgrounds and a covered vehicle drop-off, and merge three parcels into roughly a 1.2-acre lot. The applicant proposes expanding enrollment from 90 to 160 students and increasing staff from about 11 to 21; the project would provide 47 parking stalls, McCarthy said.

McCarthy said the site is zoned RPDM (residential medium) and that the proposal is a permitted use. He also told commissioners the proposal met development standards for setbacks, lot coverage, height and parking, though the west-side buffer is a preexisting legal nonconforming condition. He said staff learned in the days before the hearing that a local historian believes the building — constructed about 1970 and reportedly designed…