Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning Daycare Shirley Farms topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Anna council approves daycare SUP with 14‑month start requirement after tie and public debate
Summary
After a tied vote failed earlier in the meeting, the Anna City Council approved a specific-use permit allowing a 2.4‑acre childcare center in the Shirley Farms area on condition construction begins within 14 months, with reasonable extensions. Neighbors raised traffic and future-pad concerns during public comment.
The Anna City Council on Feb. 24 approved a specific‑use permit (SUP) for a 2.4‑acre childcare center on Lynn Leonard Avenue, but only after heated public comment and a split earlier vote.
Developer representatives told the council the proposed facility would hold about 165–193 children and that a traffic‑impact analysis found peak demand under the city’s threshold for a turn lane. Juan Vasquez of Vasquez Engineering represented the applicant and said the developer will build a left‑turn lane on Leonard and maintain the entire 2.4‑acre site until any future pad is developed.
Residents and council members pressed the applicant for firm timelines and limits on what could later occupy the small remaining pad on the parcel. Property owner Robert Parish told the council he expects the daycare and a small professional office (dentist or similar) could follow, and he estimated openings and construction steps could take up to about 14 months to begin.
Several neighbors, including Catherine McMenemy, said they had called area day cares and found waiting lists, arguing the use would meet local demand. Other residents urged caution: they said similar pad sites in Anna have been left undeveloped and called for commitments on timing and better mitigation of traffic and sight‑line impacts.
An initial motion to approve the SUP with a 14‑month construction start (plus up to six months of reasonable extensions) resulted in a 3–3 tie and failed. Council discussed procedural options, including tabling or holding the public hearing open to gather more neighborhood input.
After additional discussion and clarification from city staff that any future vertical development on the pad would require a separate SUP, a revised motion was adopted that approved the SUP for a daycare only, required construction to begin within 14 months (with reasonable extensions up to six months), and preserved the council’s ability to review any later change to the pad’s use.
The council directed staff to work with the owner and neighborhood to clarify the pad’s intended uses and to bring back any relevant documentation (letters of intent) as needed. The council closed the item with a plan to revisit details if required at future meetings.
