By Lisa Carolin
A child care center will soon be opening near the intersection of Sibley and Werkner Roads, at 6065 Sibley Road in Suite 2.
It’s called Mudpies and Lullabies, LLC and the Chelsea Planning Commission unanimously approved a special use permit for the facility at its Sept. 19 meeting.
The child care center will be located between two businesses, the Purple Rose Theatre’s practice space and Kitty and Company Interior Design, which is owned by Kitty Golding. Golding wrote a letter to the commission that was read during a public hearing at the Sept. 19 meeting expressing concern about limited parking because the hours would be the same for both her business and the child care center, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
The planning commission approved the special use permit with the condition that Mudpies and Lullabies, LLC have staggered drop off and pickup times to reduce congestion.
Chelsea City Engineer Christine Linfield explained that when the property was constructed, it was under the jurisdiction of Sylvan Township. The property came into the city of Chelsea in 2004, and the Chelsea Zoning Board of Appeals recognized it may never meet parking requirements and granted a variance requiring a minimum of 17 parking spaces. Now there are 19 spaces with the possibility of adding four more.
Linfield expressed concern about noise coming from the fenced-in outdoor play area that will be part of the child care center. Mudpies and Lullabies, LLC owners Angela and George Westermeyer said they would stagger the number of children outside at any one time and that there would always be supervision.
The child care center will initially have 15 children. It would have to add one bathroom to increase the number to 30 children, and would have to add a second bathroom to increase that number to 50 children, which would be the maximum.
