A day care is planning to open in available classroom space at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church, 12012 W. North Ave., and has applied for a conditional use permit from the city, the second such permit request in recent months.
Rolanda Fowler, owner of Kidz Cave and Learning Den, spoke in support of her permit application at a Jan. 27 public hearing before the Common Council.
"My goal is to help parents and families bring reliable child care that is focusd on learning and nurturing our children," she said. "We hope to be an asset as well to the community."
Anna Kissel, president of the Mt. Zion Leadership Board, also spoke in favor of Fowler's business, noting that the church had previously offered space for a child care facility until the early 2000s. The campus also is home to the Tosa Cares food pantry.
"It is an important aspect of our faith to meet the needs of the community," Kissel said, including the child care needs of families.
Fowler's conditional use permit application will be taken up next by the Plan Commission at its Feb. 9 meeting before returning to the Common Council for final consideration on Feb. 24.
The application comes just months after the council's November approval of a conditional use permit to convert the former Firefly restaurant in Tosa Village into Casa de Corazón, a Spanish-immersion child care chain.
For Kidz Cave and Learning Den, Fowler is planning to occupy about 5,700 square feet of second-floor space in a building next to the Mt. Zion church. Renovations and safety enhancements will enable a child care facility serving up to 70 children at a time, ages 2 1/2 and older, according to the written project description submitted to the city.
The day care also would install a fence around a playground area. The planned hours are Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
