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Areaboard of Zoning Appeals—February 1, 2012 <br /> area like this the owners must live in that home. The business started that way and they were unaware of the <br /> fact that when the business moved to another location it no longer fell within those guidelines. And that's <br /> the reason we're before the Board today for the Special Exception to allow this. The neighbors have been <br /> very receptive to the daycare. In the booklet that you're looking at there it kind of gives you some pictures <br /> and the history of the thing. About midway through you'll find a map of support. The Barbour's went <br /> around to all the neighbors they could possibly reach in there. If you look at that map you'll find the pink <br /> parcels, there's 46 neighbors that signed a petition basically in support of the daycare and what they've done <br /> with the two homes in the location right there. Some of the things that history wise I'll let the Barbour's go <br /> into that a little bit further, but unaware of the fact that once they separated their home from the business it <br /> required this type of variance and that's why we're before the Board today. <br /> MRS. TAMI BARBOUR: I'm the owner of Wee Friends. I live at 701 S. Ironwood Drive in South Bend <br /> which is also in the River Park neighborhood. Mr. Lang did a great job of covering our history. When 1 <br /> opened in 19961 did check zoning and was told that there was no zoning for family child care. So we made <br /> our-decision to expand over into it's own house. We kept our River Park household where it was and moved <br /> to 730 in 2002 and didn't have any problems with that and then as he said in 2010 we purchased the <br /> foreclosed home. Actually we expanded the business because there was a foreclosed home next door that <br /> needed to be bought because it was a house that had had drug people in there, fighting pit bull people in <br /> there, kids vandalizing the neighborhood people and we couldn't afford to have that house stay next to us so <br /> we purchased that house and expanded the business for that reason. And in that we chose to make that an <br /> infant and toddler classroom because of the need for infant and toddler care in St. Joe County. It's huge need <br /> for high quality daycare situation. And that's in part why we have lots of letters of support from the <br /> community because we have formed this high quality environment that is very hard to find. We did not <br /> know of the rule having the parentheses of being primary resident until December 18th of this year, I mean I <br /> guess 2011, two days later we started this process of filing for this Special Exception. We were not trying to <br /> be outside of the Code Enforcement rule. I was operating off of what I was told in 1996. Parking I know is <br /> an issue for having a business within a residential area. We, Mr. Lang and Mr. Feeney, have verified that we <br /> have the on site parking that is required to have a business. And in addition to that we have sought the <br /> neighborhood church which is just a few houses down from us, they have a parking lot and they have given <br /> us written permission to park in that parking lot and in which our staff does that. And they also have given <br /> us permission to use that for overflow parking for any parents. And within your packet there's a tab labeled <br /> parking and that parking tab we have a written policy for parents and staff that they must sign that states that <br /> parents to try and be courtesy to the neighbors. We have put together this policy that says that they only park <br /> in front of our Wee Friends houses and then we have a neighbor, it's actually Debbie Ramer, she's here <br /> today is support of us, that they've said, "park in front of our houses, we're fine with that". Or they can park <br /> in one of the on site parking places we have or they can park over at the church to try and interfere as little as <br /> possible with the parking of the neighborhood because that would be the biggest thing. Just a few things <br /> about our business, We are State licensed and have been since 1996 and State licensing requires that we are <br /> in a residential neighborhood as family child care that is part of the requirements. By that we are limited on <br /> the number of children we can take. So you know we are small, each site is small and we're limited to the <br /> number of children. We are also PTQ, past the quality level 4. We were first or the second in St. Joe County <br /> when they enacted that program to become the highest level. We've been accredited through National <br /> 25 <br />