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Board approves family daycare at 423 West Eleventh but bars basement use until egress installed
Summary
The municipal board approved a conditional use permit for Alexis Kress to operate a family residential daycare at 423 West Eleventh, with the condition that no children be housed in the basement until secondary egress windows are installed and required fire inspections are passed.
The board voted to approve a conditional use permit for a family residential daycare at 423 West Eleventh, subject to a condition that no children may be in the basement until the property has a secondary means of egress and passes required fire inspections.
Staff member Mark told the board that notices were sent, a legal notice published and signs posted; three responses in the packet were in favor. Mark outlined standard permit conditions that would apply: the permit is not transferable, the permit lapses if the business ceases operation for six months and the property must pass a fire inspection.
At the podium, Shannon, the fire official, said she had inspected the house and found no secondary egress windows in the basement and confirmed that the applicant plans to keep children upstairs until the egress work is finished. "She's planning on having kids in the basement," Shannon said, and added, "I'll probably just stop in the house, to be honest with you... probably that first week that she's there having kids, I'm just going to pop in randomly and say hello." Shannon listed safety items required by the fire inspection, including smoke detectors in sleeping areas and at least one fire extinguisher.
Board members pressed on capacity and enforcement. Shannon and staff referenced typical state thresholds for family-daycare enrollment; Shannon said the applicant had discussed eight children and noted the state’s higher-trigger point around 12 children. The board discussed follow-up steps and how the city would respond if staff found children being cared for in the basement before egress work was completed; staff said they could make random checks and Shannon said she had authority to shut down operations immediately if an imminent life threat existed.
After discussion, a motion to approve the permit with the stated conditions was moved and seconded and carried by voice vote.
The board directed staff to follow up on the egress timeline and to ensure required inspections are completed before permitting basement use. No permit details on the exact timeline for window installation were recorded in the meeting minutes.
