Zoning Hurdle Removed For Childcare

Longtime early educator Melissa Cardoso Guerrero spent multiple months and $350 seeking zoning relief this past summer, with the goal of expanding her Fair Haven-based childcare center beyond her current six-child limit.

As of this week, childcare providers no longer have to go through that zoning board process in order to open up in a residential district — an effort to remove one barrier for those hoping to start, move, or expand a childcare center in New Haven.

The Board of Alders unanimously approved that change in the form of two zoning ordinance amendments on Monday evening, enabling childcare centers in all residential zones ​“as of right.”

In addition to residential zones, they voted to enable childcare centers as of right in MU and BC zones (which currently apply to parts of Long Wharf and City Point).

The amendments mean that aspiring daycare providers won’t need to go request a special exception or a special permit from the Board of Zoning Appeals in order to open up a childcare business in any residential zoning district.

Prior to Monday, daycares accommodating more than six kids had to receive a special exception in order to open in most areas of the city. And in the upper East Rock and Prospect Hill neighborhood, daycares for more than six kids were outright banned. The zoning code allowed only ​“family daycare homes” — daycares with up to six children, including at least one child of the daycare owner — to open up in residential zones without additional approval.

The resulting procedural hoops for many childcare providers added to a mountain of paperwork, fees, and regulatory processes required for them to open up their businesses.

In Connecticut, where childcare is more expensive than almost any other state in the country, childcare providers face the challenge of remaining as affordable as possible for families while scraping together razor-thin profit margins. Especially after a costly and stressful pandemic, the industry is struggling. According to CT Insider, 30 childcare centers closed across the city of New Haven alone in 2022. 

And as childcare centers close, childcare slots grow more limited. The state is facing a shortage of 17,000 infant and toddler childcare spots, according to CT Voices For Children — a shortage that not only affects parents’ ability to continue working while raising young kids, but also limits children’s access to learning opportunities at a critical developmental age.

This state of affairs loomed over a presentation of the zoning amendment to the Board of Alders Legislation Committee in November.

“There’s a real lack of daycares in the city altogether,” said Deputy Director of Zoning Nate Hougrand at that meeting.

“As a parent, I can attest that we have a deep need for more quality childcare,” echoed Legislation Committee Chair Ellen Cupo.

Cardoso Guerrero opened up her childcare center, Cardoso’s Multicultural Learning Center, in a Blatchley Avenue family home three years ago — a time when many childcare centers were closing. She had spent over two decades working at other preschools, and she’d wanted to start a center of her own that could focus on bilingual Spanish-English education. 

After a few years of operating with under seven students, Cardoso Guerrero wanted to expand to 12 kids. And in order to do so, she needed to apply for a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals.

While many zoning applicants pay for lawyers to guide them through the system, Cardoso represented herself. ​“It was kind of a challenging process,” she said. ​“I was lucky to have someone in the Zoning Department who helped me with the application. … I had to pay for my zoning application — that was a couple of hundred dollars — and also I had to pay for an architect so I could do a floor plan.” 

After the months-long process resulted in a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals, Cardoso Guerrero said she learned from the city’s building department that she would need to install a fire sprinkler system in order to accommodate more children. She recalled asking multiple contractors for an estimate, and said they all gave her a cost estimate of tens of thousands of dollars. Since she couldn’t afford the upgrade, she wasn’t able to move forward with the expansion.

At least, for now. ​“I’m eager to look for a bigger space where I can continue giving services to more families,” said Cardoso Guererro. Now, if she finds a different residential location for her business, she’ll have one less regulatory hoop to jump through.

“I’m very happy” about the zoning change, she said — but she believes that the government could do more to ease the burden on childcare providers, whether by relaxing building requirements or providing funding for necessary improvements. 

“I do understand that safety is the main thing, and I agree with that,” she said. But the building code requirements entail ​“a lot of expenses, a lot of investments.” She added, ​“If there’s funds out there that could help us providers to afford these requirements, that would be very helpful.”

Monday’s zoning amendment follows the passage of a 2023 state law mandating that municipal zoning codes treat small home-based childcare centers like any other residence. The New Haven amendment goes further than the state’s requirement in removing zoning restrictions against childcare centers of any size in residential areas.

According to Downtown/East Rock Alder Eli Sabin, who advocated for the state law as CT Voices For Children’s legislative coordinator, local policy advocates had been hearing that ​“zoning barriers were a challenge for trying to open up smaller-scale daycare options in communities and neighborhoods.” 

Removing zoning hurdles could help address ​“a huge childcare shortage in the state,” he said — while also providing more economic opportunities for local residents. ​“We know that childcare providers are disproportionately women, and particularly women of color,” he said. ​“These are opportunities for people within their homes to make a living.”