GRANTS, N.M. – There are generally few comments about City of Grants Planning and Zoning Commission decisions. That was not the case for the Dec. 9 session. The discussion about Dani’s Daycare took a good portion of the one-hour meeting.
Member Rueben Sandoval commented that there had been issues with dogs when Dani’s Daycare was on Houston Avenue.
“I didn’t know it had moved to the Chaco location,” commented Chair Jamie Holton who added that she has served on P&Z for 21 years. The homebased business had relocated to Chaco Avenue in 2017, according to code enforcement staff.
“I have never seen anything like this,” said Chair Holton as she referred to the large informational packet provided by Code Enforcer Robert Windhorst. He noted that his office has received numerous complaints about Dani’s in the past year.
The five-member commission held a lengthy discussion with code enforcement staff and the owner, Danielle Serna, about the reasons for the New Mexico Children’s Youth and Family Department’s decision to withdraw Dani’s license in October. The owner described her recollections of why CYFD had taken the action.
“This was a random, crazy, unfair situation [with CYFD],” said Serna.
“I’ve lost more than $8,000 since my license was taken.”
She acknowledged that monthly CYFD inspections are now part of the standards that Dani’s must meet for renewal of its daycare license.
Commission members repeatedly emphasized that there are numerous daycare centers in Grants and that there “should be a zero-tolerance policy for [license] violations” at any homebased daycare business.
The commission tabled Serna’s conditional use permit application for Dani’s Daycare; they unanimously voted to delay any additional decisions until they received proof that the owner’s state license had been renewed.
The December P&Z agenda included eight conditional use applications and two variance requests.
Only one of the homebased business applications, Sweet Second Home Daycare on Sage Avenue, was a new conditional use request. The code enforcement office mailed out six letters to nearby neighbors and received no negative comments.
The daycare has changed ownership, which required the new owner to apply for a permit. The other requests were for renewals.
One variance application was for placing a Pod storage unit on a Warren Street property; 13 letters were mailed to nearby residents and code enforcement received no objections. The commission voted to table the action until the owner provided additional information. The other variance was for a hostel.
Hostel on Jefferson Avenue
The code enforcer re ported that his office had sent 12 letters to nearby residents about the proposed business and received no negative comments. The property is zoned as Special Use and this variance application is compatible with city ordinances. Owner Ross Templeton said that he plans to reside on the premises of the Jefferson Avenue property. The owner’s goal is to offer overnight accommodations to outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. He noted that proximity to Mount Taylor and the Zuni Mountains, area bicycling trails and other outdoor attrac tions are excellent marketing assets for enticing visitors to visit Cibola County and stay overnight.
A hostel is an establishment which provides inexpensive food and lodging for a specific group of people, such as students, workers, or travelers, according to oxforddictionary.com
The variance was approved with three voting in favor and one opposed.
Next meeting
Wednesday, Jan. 13, council chambers, 600 W. Santa Fe Ave., Grants, 5:30 p.m. Visit cityofgrants.net or call 505-285-3981 for more information.