[Added 3-26-1996[1]]
There is hereby granted and delegated to the
Planning Board of the Town of Mount Pleasant the power to review and
approve site plans and to condition building permits, use permits
and certificates of occupancy on compliance with the site plan, as
approved, and any restrictions set forth.
(Reserved)
A.
Child day-care centers, subject to the following supplemental
regulations:
(1)
Intent. It is the intent of this subsection to encourage
the provision of child day-care centers in the Town of Mount Pleasant.
The Town Board recognizes the importance of, and need for, child day-care
centers within the Town. However, the need for child day care shall
not supersede the requirements to provide such care in a manner that
adequately protects the health, safety and welfare of the children
to be serviced, the parents of those children and the residents of
the area and that ensures compatibility with the neighborhood character
in which such child day-care center will operate.
(2)
Permit requirements.
(a)
Child day-care centers shall be permitted pursuant to site plan approval by the Planning Board in accordance with Article VIII of these regulations and as further regulated by this subsection.
(b)
Frontage, area and bulk standards shall be in
accordance with the requirements of the zoning district in which the
facility is to be located, except as may be otherwise regulated by
this subsection.
(c)
When child day-care centers are permitted as
accessory uses, in OB-1, OB-2, OB-3 Districts, "accessory" shall refer
to the size of the proposed child day-care center in proportion to
the principal use. In this case, the gross area to be occupied by
the child day-care center shall not be greater than 20% of the principal
use and shall be located therein.
(d)
Signs related to a child day-care center shall be in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 176, Signs, of the Town of Mount Pleasant Town Code.
(e)
Prior to endorsement of the approved site plan, there shall be evidence of all required agency/department approvals, except as noted in Subsection A(2)(f) below.
(f)
Prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy,
licensing and/or registration as required by the New York State Department
of Social Services shall be obtained. Full compliance with the requirements
thereunder shall be maintained in good standing.
(g)
An interior floor plan, drawn to scale, shall
be provided showing planned occupancy and use of all interior areas
to be utilized by the child day-care center. Plans for child day-care
centers located in a building with other uses shall also show, at
the time of application, the interior floor plans for the floor on
which the day-care center is proposed to be located and shall indicate
all other uses in the entire building. The interior floor plan shall
show and identify all access locations with respect to required dropoff/pickup
areas and outdoor play areas for the child day-care center.
(h)
Interior floor areas for child day-care centers
shall only be located within a ground floor with exterior at-grade
access and shall not be located in basements or upper floors lacking
at-grade access.
(i)
Child day-care centers shall only be established
in fire-resistive buildings which conform with all provisions of the
New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code. An application
for a child day-care center shall provide a narrative and/or interior
floor plan which identifies and describes all necessary and required
emergency evacuation routes and fire and safety features, such as
but not limited to sprinklers, fire/smoke detectors, audio and visual
alarm systems, exits, windows, doors, stairwells and interior and
exterior safe-haven areas.
(j)
The grounds, outdoor play areas, parking areas,
dropoff/pickup areas, related site improvements and the exterior of
all buildings and structures shall be kept and maintained in conformity
with the approved site plan.
(3)
Design standards.
(a)
Outdoor play area.
[1]
Each child day-care center shall contain a designated
outdoor play area which shall be shown and detailed on the required
site plan.
[2]
At the time of application for site plan approval,
the percentage of the center's enrollment capacity permitted to use
the outdoor play area at any given time shall be computed by multiplying
the day-care center's enrollment capacity by 20%. To determine the
size of the outdoor play area, the resultant capacity of the outdoor
play area shall then be multiplied by 125 square feet per child for
children up to six years of age; or by 250 square feet per child for
children older than six years of age. In no case however, shall the
size of the outdoor play area be greater than 5,000 square feet in
size.
[3]
The location of the outdoor play area shall
be separated from adjacent streets, driveways, off-street parking
and loading areas and required dropoff/pickup areas to prevent potential
adverse impacts and to ensure the safety of the children and staff,
as follows:
[a]
The outdoor play area shall not
be located in the front yard and shall be subject to setbacks equal
to those for buildings in accordance with the requirements of the
zoning district in which the facility is to be located.
[b]
If the outdoor play area is located
in an area which is not directly adjacent to the access of the indoor
portion of the center, a designated crosswalk or access path shall
be provided between the two areas. Fencing along such path or crosswalk
will be required to provide additional security protection. All-season
landscaping may also be required to ensure an integrated landscape
treatment with the surrounding site area.
[c]
The outdoor play area shall be
enclosed by a chain-link fence, or fence of equivalent material. Such
fence shall be six feet in height. Gates designed with appropriate
locks shall be installed within the fencing to ensure safety for the
staff and children using the area.
[d]
The outdoor play area may be screened
on all sides which do not abut a building by an all-season six-foot-high
landscaped buffer covering an area measuring a minimum of five feet
in width, offset from the perimeter fence of the required outdoor
play area to ensure the safety of the staff and children using the
area, to restrict nonauthorized external access and to improve compatibility
with adjacent uses and properties. Such landscape buffers may be located
within required setback areas.
[4]
The surface material and construction components
of the fencing and play apparatus shall be of a suitable type for
recreational purposes and which ensure the safety of the staff and
children of the child day-care center.
[5]
The ground surface of the outdoor play area
shall be covered by a cellulose mulch or other suitable material type
for recreational purposes.
[6]
The outdoor play area shall be free from any
condition which is known to be hazardous and/or dangerous to the health
and safety of the staff and children using the area.
[7]
The Planning Board may attach other conditions
and safeguards as may be considered necessary to protect the health
and safety of the staff and children of the child day-care center,
to ensure compatibility with contiguous and adjacent uses and adjacent
properties and which protect and enhance the existing character of
the surrounding area.
(b)
Dropoff/pickup area.
[1]
Each child day-care center shall contain a designated
dropoff/pickup area which shall be shown and detailed on the required
site plan.
[2]
The dropoff/pickup area shall provide direct
access to the child day-care center and all loading and unloading
of children from vehicles shall only be permitted from this designated
area.
[3]
The dropoff/pickup area shall be located so
that children do not have to walk across the parking area or traffic
areas to reach a vehicle or the related facilities of the center.
[4]
The dropoff/pickup area shall provide one-way
traffic flow with a separate standing area consisting of a minimum
of one dropoff/pickup space for each 15 children of the center's licensed
capacity. A "dropoff/pickup space," for the purposes of this subsection,
shall mean a temporary vehicle standing area, measuring 20 feet long
by 12 feet wide for perpendicular parking or 22 feet long by 12 feet
wide for parallel parking, which is not within any traffic aisle;
such spaces shall not be counted as required off-street parking or
loading spaces. Such areas shall be clearly identified by pavement
markings and appropriate aboveground signage.
[5]
The dropoff/pickup area and vehicle standing
area shall be paved.
(4)
Where an applicant cannot meet the requirements of
any part or parts of this section, the Planning Board shall have the
power to waive or modify such standards as contained herein pertaining
to such as long as the objectives of this section can still be met.
