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HAMILTON: Day care approved for Youngs Road church

By James McEvoy, Managing Editor
   HAMILTON — Over two years after being approved for a worshipping site on Youngs Road, the Church in Hamilton will now maintain a day-care center.
   The establishment of day-care operations, which will initially serve only congregants’ children, was approved unanimously by the township Zoning Board of Adjustment Nov. 12.
   ”The application is not for an addition of the building at all, no renovation of the building except for the use internally (of) a portion for the child care facility,” said Steven M. Hambro, the attorney for the applicant.
   ”It’s actually complementary in terms of the church,” Mr. Hambro said. “The church operates not during the daytime hours, the church is on Sundays, weekends. This child-care facility (will be operated) during the week.
   The operation will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, for a maximum of 60 children ages 2 ½ and up.
   The center will feature nine salaried employees. Snacks will be provided, but no lunches will be prepared at the facility.
   Mr. Hambro said the number of children serviced by the center would likely be far less at first. The day-care operations would take place within the building classrooms.
   While there will be no internal changes at the site, a playground will be installed with 4-foot-high fencing.
   The church is located in the manufacturing zone, where it is not a permitted use.
   Allen Schectel, the applicant’s planner, said since parents will not drop off or pick up children at a set time, as would be the case at a school, there is not any significant impact on traffic anticipated.
   He also noted the state will have to provide licenses for the center to be able to operate.
   According to board and applicant counsel, the variance was needed even though day-care facilities are a permitted use in the zone since the application technically constitutes an expansion to a nonconforming use.
   The original application, which entailed converting a warehouse into the church, was approved in early 2011.