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Board OKs conditional use for stand‑alone daycare at Copper Mine/4 Seasons campus
Summary
The BZA approved a conditional‑use application for a stand‑alone daycare at the Copper Mine/4 Seasons sports complex. Engineers said the 11,900‑sq‑ft facility would serve about 113 children with staggered drop‑off hours; board members flagged traffic for later site‑plan review but found the proposal consistent with the master plan and local needs.
The Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals approved a conditional‑use request to add a stand‑alone daycare facility at the Copper Mine/4 Seasons sports complex in Hampstead.
Richardson Engineering project engineer Brian Kowalczyk described the 18.9‑acre site at 2710 Hampstead Mexico Road, a proposed limited disturbance footprint of about 1.5 acres and a new building of roughly 11,900 square feet. The engineer said utilities will be private, the project lies in the Patapsco River watershed and wetlands are present at the rear of the property. He noted parking requirements would be satisfied with 276 provided spaces against a combined required total of 198.
Owner Alex Jacobs explained the standalone facility will replace a smaller indoor daycare and be operated by an existing local provider (Barry Patch). Kowalczyk testified the proposed daycare capacity is 113 children with approximately 20 staff and operating hours of about 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; drop‑off and pickup times will be staggered. Planning staff memos in the record found the conditional use consistent with the Carroll County Master Plan as amended in 2019; the State Highway Administration reported no objection.
Board members discussed traffic and said such operational and site‑plan issues are more appropriately addressed during the site‑plan and permitting processes. Several members said there was no opposition on the record and that the proposed use would meet community need. The board moved, seconded and approved the conditional use; written findings will follow within 30 days.
Quotes: "There's clearly a need for daycare facilities," one board member said during deliberations. "The times of the daycare in use are typically slower times... so this actually works very well with the traffic flow," owner Alex Jacobs said.
Next steps: The applicant will submit a site development plan and address Technical and permitting comments (stormwater, forest conservation, lighting and any traffic mitigation) during Development Review and Permits & Inspections review.
