Day care gets OK

A Hoffman Road resident has been given conditional use approval to operate a day care in her home.

During a July conditional use hearing, Barbara Panzarella, the applicant, said she is a former high school teacher and worked for a corporate day care before starting to do day care in her own home.

Neighbors at the hearing raised concerns about traffic and the driveway being near a curve; the up to 12 children that would be allowed in the day care in a residential area; noise; trash disposal and the effects on property values

of neighboring homes.

“We heard the neighbors’ concerns,” Lower Salford Township Board of Supervisors Chairman Douglas Gifford said at the board’s Aug. 2 meeting.

There wasn’t any evidence given, however, that would give a reason to deny the application under the law, he said.

“The evidence that was presented showed it to be what one normally would expect from this type of facility, which is a permitted use subject to any conditions

we feel are warranted given the particular nature,” Gifford said. “There was nothing to show that this day care center would be any worse or cause any more problems than any other day care would if it were located here.”

The use is allowed under the township’s zoning laws, he said.

“I believe that we should vote to approve it, subject to the conditions we discussed at the hearing and discussed with the applicant,” Gifford said. Those conditions include maintaining proper vehicle entry and exit to the property, keeping state day care licensing

current and making sure trash is properly removed, he said.

“Doug’s right. We’re only here to set conditions,” board member Phil Heilman said.

Under the township’s existing ordinance, up to 12 children are allowed at the day care, he said, but said he thinks that’s “way excessive” and that he’d like to have the township take a new look at the ordinance to possibly change it.

The conditional use was approved with four yes votes; board member Chris Canavan abstained because he was not at the July meeting when the hearing took place.