Royal Oak Planning Commission approves site plan and special land use for NF Family School daycare amid debate over tree removals and fence materials

Royal Oak Planning Commission members voted to approve a special land use designation and a site plan for a proposed NF Family School daycare on the north side of West 11 Mile Road, adjacent to the YMCA, after a public hearing and lengthy discussion about tree removals, a fee in lieu of planting and fence materials.

Joseph Murphy, the city’s director of planning, told commissioners the petitioner proposes to demolish an existing one‑story medical/professional building and construct a prototypical daycare building with roughly 9,364 square feet of usable space within a larger 14,230‑square‑foot footprint. The proposal includes 35 off‑street parking spaces, above the 27 required by code, to accommodate peak drop‑off and pickup periods.

Murphy said the applicant will remove 41 trees from the site, 22 of which were identified as in good condition; the petitioner proposes to plant 17 replacement trees. "The total diameter of removed healthy trees is 223 inches and the proposed replacements equate to 50 inches, a difference of 173 inches," Murphy said. Under the city calculation of $200 per inch, that deficit equates to an in‑lieu fee of $34,600.

Bradford Egan of 814 Services, the project developer, described the tenant NF Family School as a U.K.‑based early‑education operator entering the U.S. market and said the prototype building accommodates 186 children and 28 staff. "This prototypical design allows for 186 children and 28 staff members," Egan said, and the layout choices — including removing front parking to avoid a second curb cut — were driven by the tenant’s program needs and site constraints.

Commissioners pressed staff and the petitioner on the tree inventory and whether the city should require an independent arborist review. Murphy said the city's ordinance requires replacement only for trees deemed healthy; smaller saplings and trees in poor condition are not counted toward the replacement calculation, and there is no ordinance requirement for peer review of a petitioner‑hired consultant unless access to private property is granted.

The commission also debated the proposed six‑foot wood privacy fence around the playground. Commissioner Charon Douglas said she preferred a non‑wood option such as aluminum or a composite that would be more durable and more visually consistent with some neighboring examples; others argued the wood fence as proposed complies with screening requirements and that aesthetic directions beyond code could be difficult to impose on the petitioner. Staff confirmed a compliant wood fence would meet screening requirements, but several commissioners raised safety and neighbor‑aesthetics concerns.

After discussion, a commissioner moved and the commission adopted the special land use finding that the proposal met the required criteria. The vote on the site plan included a modified contingency: the petitioner must contribute to the city's tree replacement fund "according to the fee established by the city commission based on the deficiency of trees in comparison to healthy trees removed," allowing the administrative calculation to be adjusted downward if the petitioner adds replacement trees to a revised site plan. The motion passed by voice vote with five in favor and one opposed.

The commission did not record individual roll‑call votes in the transcript provided; the motion result was announced as approved with one dissenting voice.

The commissioners also discussed process items unrelated to the project, including consolidated brownfield reporting and an upcoming multi‑season reconstruction of 11 Mile Road anticipated to start in 2027. The meeting adjourned after the planning items concluded.

What happens next: the site's approval includes contingencies that must be satisfied in staff‑reviewed resubmittals; the administrative calculation of the fee will change if the petitioner revises the site plan to add replacement trees.