Ridgecrest Planning to mull proposed child care facility in industrial zone

Jul. 23—A conditional use permit for a new child care facility is on the agenda for the next Planning Commission meeting Tuesday.

The application is for a proposed child care facility on West Ward Avenue. The owner is Steve Wuo and the applicant is Miriam Hogg, according to the city.

The property is currently zoned M-1 light industrial.

Child care is not a compatible use in the industrial zone, city staff said.

Current land use is industrial to the north; Recycling Center/Pegasus Electric to the South; an auto body shop to the east and manufacturing to the west.

Staff finds the proposed childcare center facility location incompatible within the industrial zone, citing factors including "elevated noise levels, and possible hazards that are not compatible with a childcare facility," according to a staff report.

The applicant was advised it would be possible to apply for a conditional use permit, according to the report. The applicant was invited to the planning meeting Tuesday for a pre-application discussion on compatibility with the surrounding use and zone, prior to formal submittal of the application.

The industrial use designation is primarily intended for "small scale industrial uses for assembly, fabrication, manufacturing and processing of goods," according to the report.

According to the report, the Ridgecrest Municipal Code states that "all uses permitted in the commercial service district are permitted within the light industrial" and that "schools and day care centers are conditional uses in the commercial service zone."

Also on the agenda is a request for a variance to a front yard setback to construct a garage addition on Peg Street.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m.June 27 at City Hall council chambers at 100 West California Ave.

The meeting will be open to the public.

See the agenda online for more information:

https://www.ridgecrest-ca.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_07272021-1496

___

(c)2021 The Daily Independent, Ridgecrest, Calif.

Visit The Daily Independent, Ridgecrest, Calif. at www.ridgecrestca.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.