PLACENTIA : Commission Rejects Day-Care Expansion

A family day-care home operator this week lost an appeal of a Planning Commission decision to deny her a permit to expand her operation from six to 12 children.

The commission found that an expansion of Tahira Vaziri’s day-care home would create more traffic, noise and parking problems for her neighbors on Montecito Street. Many of Vaziri’s neighbors protested her plans to expand, claiming that an increase in children would destroy the quiet and safety of their neighborhood.

On Tuesday, the City Council upheld the commission’s decision.

Councilman Michael L. Maertzweiler said Vaziri should consider moving her business to a larger facility.

“I live within 100 feet of a (family day-care home) and the neighbors on either side of it can’t sell their homes,” Maertzweiler said. “We hear the noise.”

Family day-care homes for up to six children are licensed by the state. Large family day-care homes, which can accommodate up to 12 children, including the provider’s own children, require a special permit from the city.

The council’s decision came two weeks after a public hearing drew about a dozen opponents of Vaziri’s proposed expansion. Many of those who spoke said a large family day-care home would be incompatible with the neighborhood.

But Kristine A. Charton, Vaziri’s attorney, said the neighbors’ complaints were irrelevant. State law prohibits cities from denying permits to licensed day-care providers if the provider complies with the cities’ regulations governing large family day-care homes.

The city code only requires an applicant to have a six-foot block wall around the back yard and a two-car garage, Charton said. Vaziri’s house meets both conditions.