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By Carol Arnett

The Florissant City Council held a first reading on a bill that would allow a day care center to move into 13041-13141 New Halls Ferry Road. This is a storefront in the Plaza Madrid Shopping Center at New Halls Ferry and Parker Road.

The council held a public hearing on the proposed facility at their last meeting. At the hearing, Harriet Ball-Stanburri, the director of the proposed center, spoke to the council about the center, Kydz La Casa Learning Center.

A petition opposing the day car center has been submitted by nearby residents.

The learning center would be open 24 hours, and Saturday and Sunday. Ball-Stanburri said there was a need for a 24 hour center for parents who work evening and night shifts. She said healthcare workers, especially, could benefit from a center.

The center would be located towards the end of the shopping center that has a furniture store. It would have a play area behind the shopping center, accessed through a back door. Parents would drop off and pick up children in the front.

Rufus Tate, Ball-Stanburri’s attorney, said that the drop off and pick up should not be a problem. Cars would drive off the main traffic lane in the parking lot, and pull up close to the day care.

Petitions Presented

Elizabeth Bolling, a resident who lives nearby, submitted a petition from several neighbors against the day care. “I don’t think it’s a good fit for the site,” she said.

Councilman Mark Schmidt said he had reservations about the center early in the process, but had come to see the location as a logical one.

“Where else can you put this?” Schmidt asked. He noted that while many daycare centers  were located in residential areas, a 24-hour center would have a hard time locating near residences. The strip mall, he said, may be a good location.

The city’s Planning and Zoning Commission (P and Z), recommended denial of the ordinance that would allow the daycare. To override P and Z, the council needs a supermajority.

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