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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP202200017 Narrative 2022-07-05Maple Grove Christian Church Application Narrative Special Use Permit Request for Day Care Center 7/02/2022 PROJECT PROPOSAL Maple Grove Christian Church (MGCC) is applying for a special use permit to use its current church facility, located at 3210 Proffit Rd, Charlottesville, VA 22911, to provide a five -day -a -week day care center in its Children's Ministry wing. There is a large and rapidly growing need for day care services in our area and MGCC wants to help meet that need by opening and operating a high - quality Christian day care center. MGCC has a well -designed children's educational facility with classrooms, offices, activity space, kitchen, and age -appropriate playground areas that are well equipped to support daycare center operations. Our current church facility is approximately 18,000 total square feet (SF) in size. It is estimated that we can provide well -designed classroom space for approximately 50 preschool children ages 0 — 5 years in the existing 2800 SF children's classroom wing. If our proposal is accepted, we plan to add toddler restrooms, hand -washing sinks and resilient flooring throughout the classroom wing. Additionally, we will utilize our existing 3000 SF fellowship hall as a multipurpose room for lunchtime dining, indoor games, motor skill development and craft activities. The proposed day care program would operate from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday year-round except for national holidays. Church activities are held in the evenings and on weekends so the building will be empty during day care center hours. In addition, no outside activities currently occur or will be scheduled at the church during the day care operating hours. The planned day care space has adjacent adult restrooms, a storage room for supplies and educational materials, one office in the immediate space and two office/admin areas at the nearby building main entrance. There is a 1600 SF age -appropriate playground adjacent to and directly accessible from the classroom area. Behind the building is a large outdoor basketball court, a school age -appropriate playground, gaga -ball pit and a grassy area that serves as a volleyball court. The church property is 6.86 acres and provides safe, substantial, open spaces for supervised walks within controlled areas. Traffic behind the building is currently restricted/controlled with barriers and signage. The majority of the church's property is bordered by trees offering natural buffer zones between church property and adjacent neighborhoods. Because daycare activities will be carefully planned, scheduled by groups, and closely supervised, there is no concern that activities will interfere with the neighbors. Proffit Road borders the church's north property line and the current entrance is directly into the church main parking lot. There is an approximate 100 foot -long turn lane for vehicles heading east on Proffit Road and turning right into the parking lot. The main lot has 105 parking spaces of which five are handicap -designated. There are another 60 parking spaces on the side of the building and additional overflow gravel/turf parking in the back. We anticipate needing parking for about 10 faculty and staff members during operating hours. Parents typically will drop off their children in the morning between the hours of 7 to 9 am and return in the afternoon from 4 to 5:30 pm. If parents need to meet or stay for any reason, there is adequate parking to accommodate them and the staff during program hours. As indicated on the conceptual plan, parents will enter the main parking area from Proffit Road and loop around the perimeter of the lot to the main building entrance. This is the current traffic pattern for the facility and has been used for many years to effectively control larger numbers of vehicles. There is adequate space so that vehicles will not back up in the lot. Signage will also be erected to direct traffic. There are concrete walks all along the front of the building leading to the main building entrance. The property is in an area that is developed as urban density residential. The Lighthouse Church currently operates a day care center on Worth Crossing in near proximity to our location. This day care center is very close to the route 29 development zone, near to businesses and adjacent to single and multifamily residences. The request to use the church within this area for a small day care center is in line with the current use and zoning of the area. While we would require a special use permit to use the church facility for the proposed day care center, other special use permits, including other day care centers, currently exist in the area. Having reviewed Section 5 of the Zoning Ordinance, we understand that day care center facilities and operations are subject to inspection by all governing departments specified in the ordinance as well as other applicable state and federal laws. MGCC will, upon notification or IAW prescheduled inspections, facilitate access to all required spaces, participate in inspections, and will make corrections as specified in inspection reports. CONSISTENCY WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN MGCC is located in the Places 29 Hollymead district. It appears that the intention of Albemarle County is to create a neighborhood area that includes the core aspects needed for a neighborhood to function independently including schools, residences, retail, medical offices, churches, etc. The commercial mixed use designation allows for all of these uses. Since there are hundreds of homes within a couple of mile radius of MGCC, to add a day care center to the local community is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan for this area. IMPACTS ON PUBLIC FACILITIES & PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE Concerning public utilities and infrastructure, our current building is designed and approved by the County to accommodate over 400 adults in worship with another 60 children aged 0-12 attending Sunday school. We are currently running about 25% of that number on a regular basis, or approximately 75-100 adults and 20-25 children on most Sunday mornings. The proposed day care center occupancy would comprise just over 10% of the design capacity of the building infrastructure, well within safe operating limits. We assess that the water, sewer, electrical and communication requirements for the proposed day care center would not greatly exceed the current usage at the Church. We also assess that the impact of the planned day care center on Profitt Road and other nearby highways will be minimal and not impact normal traffic patterns in the immediate area. Based on traffic patterns from other local day care facilities, we expect traffic in and out of our building to be staggered over approximately 2 hours in the morning and 1 %2 hours in the evening. Also, it is our target goal to provide day care services to the 90 plus new homes currently being built adjacent to MGCC and existing neighbors. IMPACT ON ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES There will be no impact on the environmental features of the property. The current preschool playground and outdoor recreational areas are sufficient for planned day care center operations. The parking lots, building size, exterior, and landscaping will not be altered. As stated, there are no concerns regarding impacting the environment on the property or neighboring properties. In summary, exterior modifications to the church building and property are not planned.