Day care decision postponed after neighbors object

Interim Community Development Director Dan Marks on Tuesday quickly approved Stephen F. David’s request to provide full alcoholic beverage service and expand the hours at his restaurant at the Inn at Benicia Bay, a bed and breakfast at 145 East D St.

But at the same zoning administration meeting, Marks chose to delay a decision on Kristi Claverie’s use permit to operate a day care center at her home at 579 Cooper Drive.

Only David spoke about his use permit request, and Marks immediately answered that the application was approved. David will be able to operate his restaurant from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week and seek a full beverage license.

In contrast, several neighbors urged Marks to deny Claverie’s request, saying their cul de sac couldn’t accommodate the additional traffic a day care would bring.

Marks said he would consult with Principal Planner Amy Million, also at Tuesday’s meeting, before rendering a decision early next week.

Claverie said the family of her husband, James, has been in Benicia so long that a street has been named for his great aunt, and that her day care operations at previous locales have operated smoothly.

She currently has a day care at 130 Gill Way. Claverie is proposing to offer in-home day care from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, including 30 minutes of flexibility to accommodate special circumstances, such as the need for early dropoff or late pickup. Only 14 children would be allowed at her home at one time.

“The kids have been with me for years, and the parents are well-trained,” she said of her clients.

She said those parents, most of whom have professional careers, know that if her neighbors are upset, it could cause trouble for the day care. “They are respectful with parking, dropoffs and pickups,” she said.

She said her Montessori program also teaches children to be respectful, a point that was supported by one of her clients, who said Claverie’s quality care means she has a waiting list of those who want her services, despite the expense.

Claverie’s mother-in-law, Claudia Claverie, and her sister-in-law, Aimee Kincaid, both Benicia child care providers, said arrival and departure hours at day care are staggered, unlike at schools. That means neighborhood traffic impacts are minimal.

Kincaid said a likely average is one car every 10 minutes, and that parents would be required to use Claverie’s driveway to turn and leave.

Claudia Claverie said her daughter-in-law’s day care is inspected by the Benicia Fire Department and state authorities. She reminded Marks that Cooper Drive is a two-way street that she has been able to navigate in a large Suburban utility vehicle, including turning to change direction.

Among others who supported the project was Brian Stone, a neighbor who said the city needs quality day care for its children.

He disagreed with those who said the street couldn’t handle parents’ cars, but urged a traffic study to settle the matter with facts.

But other neighbors said the street is crowded enough without additional traffic coming in. Not only do cars have to squeeze through, but traffic is a threat to loose pets and pedestrians, particularly children, they said.

Among those objecting to Claverie’s project is Richard von Grabow, a minister who also lives on Cooper Drive.

He said there have been children living near his street, and their noise is not the issue. Additional traffic is the issue, he said.

Even if it’s designated a two-way street, von Grabow said Cooper Drive operates as a one-way street, with residents and visitors having to drive its length and use the cul-de-sac’s end as a turnabout.

“I see contractor and delivery trucks parked on the street. Cars have to be careful,” he said, asking Marks to deny Claverie’s request.

Others agreed, citing the street’s current congestion and the frequency of delivery trucks to the home-based import business of another Cooper Drive resident.

Yamilet Gunion, who said she lives across from the proposed day care, insisted that the quality of Claverie’s operation isn’t the issue.

“The issue is the number of cars turning around,” she said.

Saying the area has experienced three fires, Gunion told Marks that during the third, the neighborhood was told to evacuate. “There was a problem with traffic in the evacuation,” she said, adding that it would be “unrealistic” to expect a day care would have no impact on any future evacuations.

Day care advocates answered that clients and staff drill for such emergencies, and use special equipment to move the children quickly. Regarding pets, Claudia Claverie reminded Marks that dogs that are not on their owners’ properties are required to be on a 6-foot leash.

Paula Broome, whose attorney husband also works from home on Cooper Drive, said she lives at the end of the cul-de-sac. She said those using the street’s end to reverse direction “will turn right in front of my house.” She called a traffic increase a health and safety matter.

In addition, she told Marks if the children play outside, “there is no way you can keep them quiet.”

She urged Claverie to consider opening the day care on “a better-suited street.”

Janette Wolf said her home backs up to the home Claverie has rented. Wolf said her own daughter attended a Montessori program and now is a teacher, adding that she wanted Claverie’s business to thrive but objected to living near a day care operation.

“I have a chronic illness,” she said. “I need a great deal of sleep. Sound travels.”

When construction crews have worked on the house Claverie is renting, she could hear not only their hammering but also the workers’ conversations, she said. “It sounded like it was in our yard,” she said.

She said children’s voices would carry just as easily.

“I am not making a decision on the spot,” Marks said after Wolf and others testified.

He said he and Million have visited the house where Claverie wants her day care, but had done no traffic count. But he didn’t elaborate about the topics he would discuss with Million before he announced his decision.

He said he expects to rule on the request Monday or Tuesday, and added that those who disagree may appeal first to the Planning Commission and subsequently to the City Council.