Hollister
– If the City Council approves a new child care ordinance at its
Monday meeting, child care providers will pay lower fees, notify
fewer neighbors and have to provide less parking. But some
providers say not all the changes go far enough, and that not all
the changes are for the better.
Hollister – If the City Council approves a new child care ordinance at its Monday meeting, child care providers will pay lower fees, notify fewer neighbors and have to provide less parking. But some providers say not all the changes go far enough, and that not all the changes are for the better.
Vicky Grimmett, president of the San Benito Child Care Association, said that although she’s grateful for some of the revisions, she’s still “not very happy” with the new law. One of her biggest objections is to what she sees as a reclassification of “family child care homes” as a “home occupation.” Grimmett described the change as “insulting.”
“It makes us look like we’re making all this money,” she said. “We’re not doing this for the money.”
Grimmett added that she wasn’t informed about the reclassification until the council’s public hearing on Nov. 6.
City Attorney Stephanie Atigh said child care providers aren’t being reclassified.
“The council said, ‘You are operating a business out of the house,'” she said. “We’re not going to hold you to the same rules as a home occupation, but we do have to give some consideration to the neighbors.”
The ordinance will amend the city’s municipal code; the revisions were first discussed earlier this year after local child care providers complained that the approvals process was too expensive and burdensome. The city divides child care providers into two categories: large family child care homes, which provide care to between nine and 14 children, and small family child care homes, which provide care to eight or fewer children.
The ordinance reduces many of the requirements and fees involved in obtaining a permit to operate a large home. Providers now have to notify neighbors within 100 feet of their homes, not 300 feet; they have to provide one off-street parking spot, not three; and the one-time permit fee has been reduced from $1,098 to $181.
Child care providers who operate small homes do not have to obtain a permit.
Councilman Doug Emerson said he’s happy with the changes.
“Some people still didn’t like it,” he acknowledged. “It’s a negotiation process. What we had before was a little extreme, but I think we found a good medium in between.”
A number of child care providers appeared at the City Council meeting on Nov. 6 to express their concerns about the changes, particularly about the notification requirements. Grimmett and others said that notifying their neighbors could mean notifying nearby sex offenders, which would put children at risk.
“It’s just not necessary,” Grimmett said.
Emerson argued that the 100-foot notification requirement meant that most providers would only have to tell their immediate neighbors.
“If there’s a sex offender next door, they’re going to know about (the child care home) anyway,” he said.
Emerson added, “The neighbors have a right to be notified if there’s going to be a business next door.”
Overall, critics of the new rules say the city is still discouraging people from providing care for large numbers of children. Emerson, however, disagrees.
“I just don’t think it’s going to discourage people who are thinking about going to large child care,” he said.
Grimmett said she knows one child care provider who decided to reduce the number of children she serves because she doesn’t want to pay the fees and costs associated with becoming a large home. Grimmett noted that in addition to the $181 permit fee, child care providers need to pay an annual $130 state licensing fee and a $60 business licensing tax, as well as the costs associated with meeting building, fire and housing codes.
“It definitely discourages people,” Grimmett said. “There are so many unlicensed providers in the county; this is just going to encourage them to continue working under the radar.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at (831) 637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
