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MARQUETTE -- The Marquette Township Planning Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a special-use permit for a proposed group day care home along Brookton Road.
The facility will be run in a rented home by retired teacher Lysa Dawn Stockwell at 325 Brookton Road. As a group day care facility, it can have no more than 12 youngsters.
At Wednesday's public hearing, township planner Erik Powers indicated that the property is large with a circular driveway.
"It makes access pretty easy," he said.
However, nearby residents expressed concern about day care customers using Tower Road in cases where icy conditions make Brookton Road impassable.
It was unclear if Tower Road is considered private, but township officials indicated that its accessibility status needs to be determined. However, people going to the day care home may use the road if it is legal. Brookton Road does have legal access.
"I feel that residents have just as much right to Tower Road as anyone else," said Stockwell, who pointed out she can ask people to use the main Brookton drive, although she would want them to take the safest route.
The Marquette-Alger Regional Educational Service Agency earlier had indicated a need for local day care for its employees.
"While this project is one of our priority areas as an agency, this is Lysa's business, but this is supporting many families in the community that have been on a waiting list or cannot return to work," said Lyndsay Carey, director of early childhood for MARESA. "We know that this is not just a Marquette-area challenge. This is a local, this is a state and this is a nationwide issue of shortage of providers, and for people willing to step up and offer their home for a business is something that we are really encouraging our community to do."