ANAHEIM : Neighbors’ Protests Kill Preschool Move

A plan to move a west Anaheim preschool was rejected by the City Council after hundreds of residents near the proposed new site objected.

The 45-child Fun Fair day-care center, which many parents said is the only affordable center close to their homes, will not be allowed to move from its current site at 3301 W. Lincoln Ave. to the proposed site in a single-family home at Dale Street and Yale Avenue.

“It’s really hard to find good day care nowadays, and one we can afford,” said a tearful Catherine Viehmeyer, a parent favoring the move whose 5-year-old daughter was with her, after the council vote.

The center needed to relocate because a fire earlier this year destroyed part of the building. Operators had been running it under makeshift conditions, using only the back rooms and the outside play area.

But some 350 residents opposed to the move signed a petition which was given to the council, citing traffic, parking and inaccessible entrances and exits that would lead to more traffic problems on busy Dale Avenue.

“I find it dangerous and frustrating,” said Mike Calabrese, a Yale Avenue resident and main spokesman for about 100 residents who packed the council for the public hearing Tuesday night. “I’m shocked and appalled that anybody would consider dropping off and picking up 45 . . . children in front of that center.”

The council voted 4 to 0 against the move, with Councilwoman Miriam Kaywood absent.

The school will remain open until owners find another site.