Lakeway City Council members approved a special-use permit for a childcare facility at the southeast corner of Lohmans Crossing and Rolling Green Drive at the March 17 council meeting.
The 8,000-square-foot childcare facility, which will be called Little Sunshine Playhouse, sits on 1.3 acres owned by Lakeway LS Development, LLC. Developer Stephen Brown said the facility would house 136 students on a daily basis and that the facility will be open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“Their business model is to provide valet service for their clients,” Troy Anderson, director of building and development services, said. “When the children are delivered to the facility, an employee comes out to meet them at their vehicle and unloads the passengers. It provides for a quick turnover of cars, and they aren’t expecting too much queuing of vehicles.”
The assisted pickup method results in car lines no longer than two or three cars, Brown said. The facility is made to look like a “high-end” home, Brown said, using stucco and rock.
“Outdoor playtime is from 10 to 11 (a.m.) and 4 to 5 (p.m.), so not super early in the morning or obviously not late in the evening,” Brown said. “The unique features include kid cams, so you can dial into where your child is in the facility and see them at any time of the day.”
One resident attended the meeting to voice their support of the project, and several other residents emailed letters of support.
“I endorse this facility,” resident Peter Brodnitz said. “I was not too pleased with some of the earlier ideas about how to use this lot. I think that the architecture here looks just lovely. I’d like to speak to the architect about landscaping the driveway area, but overall I think it’s a good idea.”
Council members asked questions of how traffic would be handled and were informed by Anderson that entrances will be built both off of Lohmans Crossing and Rolling Green Drive. Councilman Joe Bain said several residents had complained to him about the potential for a playscape on the property and said he would like to see a solid fence around the playscape, but the matter was dropped when other councilmembers disagreed.
“I love the idea of the kiddy cam,” Councilwoman Dee Ann Burns said. “When I took my little boy to preschool, I stayed outside and looked through the window. You need kiddy cams.”
The motion to grant the special use permit passed unanimously.
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