Plymouth Township families hunting for child care have a new reason for optimism: the Board of Trustees voted 5-2 on July 21 to slash outdoor play space requirements for child care centers, a change that could open the door to new facilities along the Ann Arbor Road corridor and throughout the township.
The amendment to Zoning Ordinance No. 99 replaces the old standard of 500 square feet of outdoor play space per enrolled child with a flat 3,000-square-foot minimum per center. Under the previous rule, a center serving 30 children needed 15,000 square feet of outdoor space. Under the amended ordinance, it needs 3,000.
"The Township is still around double the requirement compared to what the state requires," township planner Liz Hart told the board at its July 21 meeting, noting that Michigan's state minimum is just 1,200 square feet per center.
The change affects two sections of the ordinance: Section 14.2.3(b)(1), which governs the Ann Arbor Road Corridor district shared with the City of Plymouth, and Section 28.64.1(a), which covers child care center provisions township-wide. Child care operators in the corridor will still need Special Land Use approval, giving planners case-by-case control over traffic, parking and site design.
Nearly a year in the making
The amendment traces back to a Planning Commission study session in August 2025. City of Plymouth planning director Greta Bolhuis formally presented the issue at the commission's Sept. 17, 2025 meeting, explaining that the Ann Arbor Road Corridor's joint zoning ordinance, adopted in the late 1990s between the City and Township, had created the restrictive standard.
The catalyst was a proposed child care center at the former Rite Aid location on Main Street in the City of Plymouth, which sits in the jointly governed corridor district.
Bolhuis found that most existing child care programs in both communities already fail to meet the 500-square-foot-per-child standard but do meet the state's 1,200-square-foot minimum. The old rule, she told commissioners, was one most existing programs couldn't satisfy, making it a barrier for new operators.
The Planning Commission held its public hearing on July 15, passing the Ann Arbor Road Corridor amendment 4-3 and the township-wide provision 7-0. Four residents spoke in favor and three opposed. At the Board of Trustees meeting six days later, five residents spoke in support and three against.
Traffic concerns remain
Trustee John Stewart voted yes but flagged traffic worries about the former Rite Aid site, suggesting a traffic study would be appropriate for that location. Trustees Mark Clinton and Sandy Groth cast the two dissenting votes.
Supervisor Chuck Curmi, Clerk Kim Gaedeke, Treasurer Bob Doroshewitz and Trustee Bill Ickes joined Stewart in approving Resolution #2026-07-21-55.
No site plan applications for new child care centers under the amended standard had been filed as of Aug. 16. The next regular Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for Aug. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at Township Hall, 9955 N. Haggerty Road.
