Our local daycare, Little Seedlings, had approached the Berkley City Council with a request to expand from 6 to 12 children (approved to expand by the State of MI). However, their proposal for the special land use grant (needed to expand after state approval) was rejected on grounds of a speculated parking issue, which, so far, has never disrupted  our community. The direct fallout of this decision is the impending closure of the daycare. A corner of comfort, care, and learning for our smallest community members could potentially be replaced by a halfway house, rental unit, or sold as this was presented at the 3/3 Council Meeting, which was met with no objections by council.

The council's decision appears to have been made seeming to neglect thorough scrutiny and assessment of the daycare’s overall impact. Over the years, Little Seedlings Daycare has enriched the lives of our young children significantly across other communities in Metro Detroit. The teachers have worked tirelessly to instill values, manners, and early-life learning in our children. The expansion was envisioned with the objective of spreading this valuable contribution to 6 more children within the Berkley community.

This petition is not only to revisit a denied special land use permit but also a call to recognize the value of institutions like Little Seedlings Daycare in the upbringing of our future leaders. Let's reaffirm our commitment to the young lives growing in our community and ensure their early-life learning won't be compromised. Please sign this petition, urging the Berkley City Council to overturn their vote and grant Little Seedlings Daycare the permission it needs to expand and continue its noble service to our society.

Regarding Special Land Use Permit cases within Berkley Mi Ordinance:

Section 138 - 297 - Special Uses shall be permitted as principle uses in R-1D districts, which Little Seedlings falls under. 
(3) Nursery schools, day nurseries and child care centers

•  https://library.municode.com/mi/berkley/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH138ZO_ARTVDIRE_DIV2SIMIREDI_S138-297SPUS 
• Within this code of ordinance, it does not mention Group Child Care Home, which is what the State of Michigan considers any home daycare with 6-12 children. It is also defined as a "group child care home" within Michigan Child Care Organizations, MCL 722.111 (v) (iv) within the Michigan Legislature. See below. 
• https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-722-111(iv) "Group child care home" means a private home in which more than 6 but not more than 12 minor children are given care and supervision for periods of less than 24 hours a day unattended by a parent or legal guardian, except children related to an adult member of the household. Group child care home includes a home in which care is given to an unrelated minor child for more than 4 weeks during a calendar year. Group child care home includes a private home with increased capacity.

To my above point, there is no regulation within Berkley city ordinance that would need Little Seedlings to operate under a Special Land Use Permit based on the State Legislature defining the business as a Group Child Care Home and not a Center. 
In order to have this legally enforceable it should clearly state Group Child Care Home within Sec 138-297 of the Berkley Michigan Code of Ordinances.