This child care center overlooks critical concerns about safety and neighborhood impact that matter deeply to surrounding families and the community.
It was approved without directly notifying nearby residents or allowing meaningful public input
This facility is located in a quiet residential neighborhood that was never intended to handle high-volume traffic or commercial operations
The neighborhood has no sidewalks and no road markings, yet seniors, children, and families walk here daily — and their safety was never considered
No fencing, landscaping, or privacy buffers were required to protect surrounding homes
The project moved forward without community support or meaningful review
This child care facility was placed here without a plan to protect the families next door.
Your child deserves more — they deserve a safe, calm, and thoughtfully integrated learning environment. And as a parent, you deserve to know the full picture before you choose care.
Choose a center that respects your child — and the entire neighborhood around them.
Our neighborhood is a quiet, residential area where families, seniors, and children enjoy safe, peaceful days. People walk the streets regularly — seniors take multiple strolls each day, school-aged children walk to and from the bus stop, young kids run across the road to play with friends, others play basketball or practice hockey in the street, and families with their pets stroll together. This strong sense of community and everyday safety is an integral aspect of our neighborhood.
The current in-home daycare has operated on a small residential scale and, as good neighbors, we didn't complain about the additional traffic, speeding and noise from the play yard. This past spring the daycare applied for and was approved for a large-scale commercial use child care center in our neighborhood.
This approval came without any notice to the neighbors — no letters, no invitation to meetings, no opportunity for residents to provide input or voice concerns over our safety.
The only way we learned about this significant change was when residents saw the driveway being replaced with a parking lot. That’s when neighbors started looking for information — eventually finding the decision records posted on the town’s website, with no prior notice to the community.
We were shocked and concerned — and we believe if this was your neighborhood, you would be too!
This process resulted in neighbors having little opportunity to be informed or participate before the approval was finalized. For this type of project, once the town’s decision is documented, any appeal must be filed with the state within 20 days — including weekends and holidays. The 20-day appeal window began and nearly passed before anyone in the community fully became aware of the project.
Because of this change, we now face increased traffic and safety risks in an area not designed for commercial activity. There are no sidewalks or road markings to protect children, seniors, other pedestrians — and no solid fencing to reduce noise or preserve the privacy of nearby homes. Imagine how you would feel if your child had to walk home from school along an unmarked road now shared with commercial traffic — or if they were no longer allowed to play in the same quiet street that once felt safe and welcoming.
We want to be clear: we fully support child care and understand its importance for families. However, it is essential that such facilities are thoughtfully integrated into neighborhoods with proper safeguards and community involvement. Unfortunately, this process bypassed meaningful neighborhood input and did not adequately consider the impacts on the people who live here.
Every family deserves transparency and a voice when decisions affect the safety and character of their community. We respectfully ask you to consider childcare options that are thoughtfully and responsibly located.
If you are concerned about the process as well, we’ve submitted a petition to the town to add clear, reasonable regulations for child care centers in residential zones. Many residents simply want basic standards and advance notice when these facilities are proposed in their neighborhoods.