The Grandview Heights Planning Commission on Nov. 19 approved a conditional use to allow a childcare facility in an existing C-2 commercial building on Northwest Boulevard, subject to conditions addressing outdoor play area, fencing, parking and vehicle circulation.

Planning staff told the commission the property is zoned C-2 (community commercial) and that childcare is allowed only as a conditional use requiring elevated review because of potential impacts on adjacent residences and nearby streets. Staff highlighted state requirements in the Ohio Revised Code that generally require 60 square feet of outdoor play area per child; for the applicant’s proposal of up to 49 children, that equates to 2,940 square feet of outdoor play area unless a state director grants an exclusion. Staff also identified site constraints — an adjacent COTA bus stop, a raised median on Northwest Boulevard and an existing parking layout — that complicate drop-off and pick-up circulation and which will require redesign or mitigation.

Applicant Ursula Haygood (also presenting as Michelle Scott) told the commission she plans four classrooms and described age-based capacities (including an eight-child room for children not yet potty trained), an indoor play area and an outdoor play area she intends to fence. She said she has a shared-parking agreement with the adjacent Wagon Brenner building and has begun the licensing and inspection process through state job and family services.

Commissioners pressed for engineered site drawings, clearer ADA and fire-safety compliance and a safer drop-off arrangement. Staff recommended conditions including that the outdoor play area either meet the full ORC requirement (2,940 sq ft for 49 children) or that a state review confirm the indoor play area and other features suffice; that a 6-foot privacy fence or a screened chain-link fence with landscaping be installed; that lighting be fully recessed and downward-facing; and that any approval be conditioned on a signed shared-parking agreement with documentation that it is enforceable.

The commission approved the conditional use by roll call, with votes recorded as yes by Commissioner Koskinski, Commissioner Evans, Commissioner Holler and Chair Gentry. Commissioners and staff agreed to table the major site-plan review and any development-standards variances (items B and C) until the applicant and her architect work with city staff and the city engineer to produce engineered drawings and a safe traffic/circulation plan. Staff said these remaining items will be revisited once the required documents and traffic analysis are provided; the applicant was advised to coordinate directly with planning staff and the city engineer.

The commission’s action allows the applicant to continue with licensing and to prepare building permit/renovation plans, but final construction approvals and any necessary variances remain subject to subsequent review.