Crazy City Rules!!
 

I'm so crushed. I'm in the process of getting registered and spoke with my city licensing inspector Friday. Over the past couple of months I have been getting my 2nd floor perfect for the kids with distinct learning centers (home living, books, blocks, etc.). We even moved our entire office to our spare bedroom on the 1st floor to make a seperate infant/napping room with everything for the younger kids.

I asked in our pre-registration training meeting about watching kids upstairs and they said absolutely no problem as long as the fire marshall comes out and says it's ok. So I had them out 3 weeks ago and they said go for it.

Well, yesterday the City licensing agent said in our particular city they cannot register/license homes to care for kids on the 2nd level b/c the Fire Marshall will not put it in writing. He said to me "I can't say where you can't or can watch kids, so if I approve downstairs there's nothing keeping you from going upstairs". I assumed this meant everything was ok. But she told me because it's not in writing they can't grant my permit. They said they will never put it in writing so the city will never approve it. UGGG

So before they come to inspect I need to decide how I'm going to move what I can downstairs so that I could operate on just that level. The downstairs just has one small bedroom, bath and then our kitchen/living/dining and we've never had toys or anything down there. It's always just been our living area and all of the kids' toys were always upstairs in their huge playroom.

I don't know how this is going to work out.:confused:

Thanks for listening to my vent.

Sorry to hear that. City regs can really bite you in the butt. My friend bought a home, get a fence permit with the city knowing that she was going to run a home daycare, she paid for the permit, put the fence up, then the city told her NO because her neighbors were being *******s and compained about it. The city never should of granted her the fence permit knowing she was going to operate a daycare, knowing there were obstacles from the neighbors. The whole things was a disaster. She NEVER did get the ok.

I know how you feel about having all the stuff in your living space, it sucks, but how it is here. I have done ok with hiding most of it. You will figure it out I am sure. You have too. So sorry, just another reason I wouldn't do this job in a state where you are forced to be licensed. Good luck in figuring it out.

could you put your living space upstairs in the playroom? in our old house, i actually put our living room in the huge extra bedroom we hade and put the daycare in the living room. my hubby didnt like it at first, but he got used to it. it was better than having the kiddos all over my furniture. we dont entertain much, and when we do, its in the summer/nicer months outside, so i didnt mind not having a "real" living room.