As more parents return to work, access to affordable child care has become a growing concern for the City of Whitewater.
For several years now, Whitewater has largely relied on the city’s one major licensed daycare center, located on the UW-Whitewater campus, leaving many families with limited and costly alternatives. In response to this increased need, independently-run daycare centers have begun opening across the city. This trend has prompted city officials to expand regulations and invest in daycare centers.
“Families are no longer able to have a good standard of living with only one parent working outside the home, and so it may help to make it possible for two parent families to both be working outside the home,” said Lynn Binnie, vice chair of Whitewater’s Plan & Architectural Review Commission.
Alongside encouraging the increase in the number of daycare facilities, the Plan & Architectural Review Commission hoped to align the city’s regulation to align with Wisconsin statute.
“Currently, child care facilities are permitted only with a conditional use permit within the City’s M-1 Manufacturing District, B-1 Community Business District and T-Technology Park District,” Community Development Director Mason Becker said. “While the State of Wisconsin allows family child care centers, none of the city’s existing residential zoning districts currently permit that use.”
In the commission’s Jan. 12 meeting, they postponed updating the city’s regulations, instead suggesting to create a new regulation that directly references the state legislature.
“We are aware that there has been daycare provided in residences for a long time, but I think there are increasing needs for child care, especially at an affordable cost, and people are just looking for other options,” Binnie said.
Binnie said that the city will check for permits and make sure areas are safe and up to code. Officials hope to maintain a child-to-worker ratio that is within city limits.
But they aren’t just leaving it up to the citizens to navigate the issue alone. Last fall, the commission received a $10 million fund to open more daycare centers in Whitewater as well as taking time to hear the community’s opinions.
“A few months ago, we had an article about a $10 million gift that was provided to put together a child care that would be somewhat similar to the one on the campus, which is a fantastic facility,” Binnie said.
The city has been exploring options for locations. The Whitewater University Innovation Center was in circulation, but had to be removed from consideration.
“We recently learned that such a change-in use would not be compliant with the original grant from the Economic Development Administration, which made construction of the Innovation Center possible in 2010,” Becker said.
The money from this fund will be used to provide another option of affordable child care for families to enroll their children in. The location of this center is not determined at this time.
“The proposed Early Childhood Education and Childcare Center does not have a definitive timeline right now, as they are continuing to explore possible locations, which may include repurposing an existing space or potentially building a new facility,” Becker said.
The new center will also focus on supporting both English and non-English speaking families as 40 percent of families in the school district are Latino or Hispanic.
In the fall, the Plan & Architectural Review Commission provided an anonymous survey for the community to provide feedback and suggestions for the commission to adjust their plans in the upcoming months. With zoning changes in the city, the commission is working hard to move forward with the plan to build a new center for the community to lean on.
