The following services are available to municipalities to support the development of child care facilities in Orange County.
We inform city planners of child care's contribution to community growth and work with them to develop land use policies favorable to child care development.
Council Member Cathy Green brought forward the revision of fee and processing requirements for family child care homes in residential zoning districts to the city council. This revision of the zoning requirement is a step forward in streamlining and clarifying the permitting process.
In June 2007, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church was facing a $234,576 traffic-impact fee from the city of Costa Mesa. Considering that most child care programs operate on an annual budget of less than $1 million, an assessment of more than $200,000 is a huge expense.
After hearing appeals from St. Andrew's, the Costa Mesa City Council agreed to waive the fee and acting on a request from Mayor Pro Tem Eric Bever, the city's Traffic Impact Fee Program Ad Hoc Committee examined the issue further. "Public benefit facilities" including libraries, parks and schools are already exempt from the fee.
With the high cost of living in Orange County, many households have two parents in the workforce, making child care an essential component of economic stability and proves the case for child care as a public benefit. In October 2007, the ad hoc committee recommended that preschool and child care facilities also be exempt from fees. The council unanimously accepted the recommendation.
When child care is included in community planning and development, we create communities that meet the needs of young children and their families while impacting the broader economy. You can't find more of a public benefit than that!
We commend Costa Mesa for recognizing the benefit of early education and exempting these facilities from traffic impact fees and encourage other cities to remove similar barriers.
Newport Beach Municipal Code Chapter 3.36 establishes the percentage of costs to be recovered from direct user fees. In 1996 cost for services study reviewed approximately 150 different services for which fees were being imposed and Chapter 3.36 lists the specific percentage cost of recovery for each service studied. Day Care Facilities were included as part of the Cost Recovery Ordinance, Section under State Mandated Inspections (Fire Department Fees). The fees currently enforced are at $194.00 (27%) and were proposed for a recommended fee at $729.00 (100%), causing a significant hardship to subsidized preschools and quality child care centers.
Child Care Connections partners provided testimony and as a result Council Member Keith Curry, District 7 amended the proposed recommendation to include that Day Facilities (Child Care Centers, Preschool and Afterschool Programs) exempt from the increase and retain the current fee for Fire Inspections. Motion passed unanimously 7-0.
This is considered a great success for Child Care Connections as we work towards sustainable change to local regulatory systems to support child care facilities throughout Orange County.
Coming Soon!
- Buena Park
- Cypress
- Fountain Valley
- Garden Grov
- Laguna Beach
- Newport Beach
- Orange
- Stanton
- Tustin
- Yorba Linda
- County of Orange
- Costa Mesa
- Cypress
- Fountain Valley
- La Palma
- Laguna Beach
- Los Alamitos
- Orange
- Placentia
- Seal Beach
- Tustin
- Westminster
- Yorba Linda
- Anaheim
- Lake Forest
- Laguna Hills
- La Habra
- Orange
- Tustin
- Westminster
- Yorba Linda
- County of Orange
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