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HOA considering restrictions on home-based businesses? (merged)

Discussion in 'Broadlands Community Issues' started by frostsh, May 6, 2008.

  1. flynnibus

    flynnibus Well-Known Member Forum Staff

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    Come to the HOA meetings and you could have heard a lot more of the details :)
     
  2. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    hubby represented my family since one of us had to stay with The Boy, and we had lawn issues that HE was more qualified to ask about. he gave me an overview. details and facts aren't always te same thing.
     
  3. Mrs Smith

    Mrs Smith New Member

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    Okay, carpooling would be great if all 10 or so of these parents were friends and knew each other, and had the same schedule etc etc. I live on this street, you guys. This is not just some random made up vindicitve stuff. The HOA meeting is in a few weeks, we will see what happens there. We have placed all we could on the table.
     
  4. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    Hey, I hear you. In this specific case I think maybe the school owners could have chosen a house with better accessibility if they were planning to have a school there. If it were me, I would have chosen a house with extra parking available (i.e., on the corner) since I knew people would have to park somewhere. And before I opened the school I would have introduced myself to all the neighbors and spoken to them about the issues involved. I probably would have brought them cookies, too. :p

    The people have a right to have a school and the neighbors have a right to a relatively quiet street. I hope it works out to everyone's satisfaction.
     
  5. Mrs Smith

    Mrs Smith New Member

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    I truly agree. The Bakers moved in last year, and im almost positive within a month she had this (unlicensed) school running. She didnt start out with as many as she has had, but it started to become a problem by the end of the last year. And while we did meet once our children started to play together, she didnt make an effort to come and knock on doors, or pass out flyers or anything letting us know what she had come to this neighborhood to do..
     
  6. GeauxTigers

    GeauxTigers Member

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    Just doing a quick look on all posts by Mrs Baker will give you a pretty good idea on when the school was started. I get a kick out of the California area code for the school's contact number. I know it's probably not a big deal but personally it would bother me having my child at a school where my only means of contacting the school is not only via a cell phone, but on a number theoretically 2500 miles away.
     
  7. mdcrim

    mdcrim Member

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    I have been sort of following this thread and I am confused. Can anyone who wants to run a business out of their home be allowed, as long as they are within the state and county licensing guidelines? If so, why do people even bother renting commercial space if they can operate their business out of their home?

    What about a movie rental company, a restaurant, a karate studio, a gym, a pharmacy or any other type of business that has customers? I don't understand. Is there a line? If so, who determines it?
     
  8. Villager

    Villager Ashburn Village Resident

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    County zoning laws are in effect.
     
  9. Mrs Smith

    Mrs Smith New Member

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    Yes that is quite funny:pofl:. They do not have a land line(according to parents I spoke with). I just hope they keep that cell well charged.
     
  10. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    see ya at the next meeting- i have no doubt that researched facts will help create a resolution with a little flexibility on both sides.
     
  11. CdnJess

    CdnJess New Member

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    Redon1 has a good point. Keep in mind these forums only offers a small slice of perspective from the community in general.

    From following this thread I understand that there are at least 2 of the Bakers' neighbors contributing to this conversation. I'd be curious to hear the thoughts and opinions from the the other neighbors who've had their kids participate in programs at the preschool since its doors opened. I understand there have been a few.

    In January, we visited the school and interviewed Mrs. Baker. From our first conversation, she was upfront about her licensing situation. She also cautioned us that her neighborhood was kid-active, and that most kid activity would likely be in front of her house. She was most clear and emphatic about using vigilance and caution when approaching her neighborhood.

    In the few months that we had been enrolled in her program, at no time did we ever see vehicles rushing in for drop-off or departure. Nor did we recall any vehicles posing obstruction to driveways. Mrs. Baker was quite diligent and clear in her communications to the parents about keeping traffic clear for her neighbors.

    As for neighborhood kids, we never saw any when we were there...just the old street hockey net, two hockey sticks and snack remnants on the curb next door. On occasion we'd see a neighbor putting out her garbage on Thursdays and she always seemed friendly enough when we passed her drive on our walks home.

    Just to let you know, Mrs. Smith, we also used to pick up trash that was blowing around your neighborhood on windy days that escaped from people's recycling bins and replace them, because your neighbors didn't think to weigh them down or contain them appropriately for the weather. My child thought it was a lot of fun to help keep the neighborhood clean.

    As for our experience with the school itself, we had no complaints. The details about the licensing, I will leave that to the Bakers' to choose to address since there seem to be a few versions floating about.

    The experience in the school was a professional, warm and friendly one for us. Our child truly enjoyed attending the program and was quite devastated to suddenly not see his friends anymore.

    I hope the HOA board will gather enough facts and statistics first before making a decision on this. Is there more that the Bakers could have done to prevent this situation from escalating? Maybe. Can a compromise and resolution be found? That's to be seen. But it will impact not just the neighborhood of Fernbrook Ct.

    There are quite a few other home-based child-care programs in our neighborhood -- some that are very highly regarded. I would hate to see them suffer and have the children short-changed because of what is happening in this particular situation. :shakehead:

     
  12. Mrs Smith

    Mrs Smith New Member

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    Alright thats Great she was honest with you about Licensing (But that doesnt make it right to run an illegal business cause you are honest about it) That is great the communication with her parents was open and clear ( but that doesnt mean the communication with the neighbors was) And thats Great that you cleaned up our street from wind-blown trash (and the point of saying that was what?)
    And I know that there are more than just 2 parents on this site speaking out, and there were more than 2 at the HOA meeting. As I stated before, all the cards are on the table, and this situation will be delt with soon.
     
  13. Pats_fan

    Pats_fan Former Resident

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    Seems pretty clear to an impartial, non-closed-mind observer what the point of CdnJess' post was: to highlight the fact that the nameless, faceless, evil-doing parents (as depicted by you and your neighbors) whose kids attend this school may not be as terrible as you suggest. It's a lot easier to demonize these parents if you can't picture them destroying your neighborhood--driving safely in the neighborhood and picking up trash are not exactly evil acts.

    It's the other side to the story--one that's been missing from this thread.

    And I still don't understand your continued argument that because the business started out as "illegal" (or we could tone down the rhetoric and call it what it actually was--unlicensed) it cannot now get licensed and stay in business in accordance with the terms of the license and HOA guidelines. Doesn't make much sense to me.
     
  14. luftinarr

    luftinarr Member

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    Just throwing this out there...

    is Little Sprouts required by law to be licensed? I seem to remember interviewing some in-home providers that said they do not have to be licensed, but they choose to to give parents a peace of mind that the provider is adhering to strict regulations regulated by the state.

    If you look at the VA Dept of Social Services website (http://www.dba.virginia.gov/frameset.asp?URL=http://www.dss.virginia.gov/family/cc/index.html), it gives information for licensed and unlicensed daycares. I saw that the unlicensed in-home center has to voluntarily register for this program and they have to have fewer than 6 children in their care (don't know if it's at one time or in total).

    As far as zoning goes, this is a requirement and something Little Sprouts should have done to begin with; I agree with that. However, I don't see how anyone can use the term "illegal" with this school nor do I see that it has to be licensed.

    I sense a lot of animosity on that court and can only hope they come to a consensus regarding Little Sprouts. I think the school should remain in place because that is her decision to run her own business. Whoever said at the HOA meeting that she should get a job in a daycare was off-base. Ms. Baker is taking care of her children as well as other children in a business she runs herself. That is a great undertaking she should be commended for. Not getting the appropriate zoning permits; tsk, tsk. Lesson learned. As far as licensing goes, she may not even be required by law to have that.

    What's that old adage...you can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family or neighbors? This situation is odd and it's like an albatross around the residents' necks. It's there and it has to be dealt with. I hope she is not shut down like some residents want, but I do hope that a good compromise can be attained.

    And for what it's worth, I don't live on that court...I only attended the HOA meeting and found out about it. We have our own issues to deal with on our court.
     
  15. Mazinger

    Mazinger New Member

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    When people/groups oppose something, they find every negative reason and bring it to the table. Even though it's not the "problem" that originally set them against it.
     
  16. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    and this is an emotional issue- any time you feel your quality of life is diminished by a neighbor, you are WAY more involved than if you are not bothered at all... that's why facts are need to lead the way in establishing a policy, not the strong emotional responses, which- should be weighed, but not the primary factor.
     
  17. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    The HOA requires home daycares to be licensed with the county.
     
  18. Mazinger

    Mazinger New Member

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    Is there a difference between childcare/daycare vs. pre-school?
     
  19. Mrs Smith

    Mrs Smith New Member

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    Not really, but she calls her program a preschool.
    But Im done posting about this, because all of these last minute and/or unecessary comments are fueling a fire that I dont want to deal with.
    I dont hate Karlene, I have kids myself, I dont think her parents are demons, and all of the other stuff thrown at me. This was a forum that I was voicing my opinion at, and thats it.. If the school is up and running with 15 kids and there is nothing I can do, then guess what there is nothing I can do. Im not trying to have them move, or cause a foclusure, or make this another Landsdowne.. Unfortunatly the other 11 homes that have the same conerns and problems with this school just dont post on this forum.
     
  20. redon1

    redon1 aka Aphioni

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    i'm sure the meeting will suit your purposes better since this is not the place where things get DONE- it's a place for everyone to voice their opinions if they choose. it's larger than this one school so all of us in this community have a vested interest in its outcome, as sunny and mama so eloquently pointed out earlier...

    see you at the meeting. :)
     

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