Kirk Fausett's building at 29th Street and Marine Drive will soon include his daughter-in-law's expanded child care center, in addition to a medical marijuana dispensary and his property management company.

The dire need for child care, her positive reviews by customers and child care specialists and new societal norms around marijuana all aided Kelsy Fausett’s case.

After a litany of public testimony in support of her request, the Astoria Planning Commission approved Fausett’s plan to expand Sea of Dreams Childcare into a commercial storefront at 2911 Marine Drive, behind her father-in-law’s property management company and The Farmacy, a medical marijuana dispensary.

Across 29th Street is Annie’s Uppertown Tavern, Astoria’s lone strip club.

“It’s a different day and age,” said Planning Commissioner Pete Gimre, adding that when he first read the Planning Commission agenda about Sea of Dreams, he was sure it would be replacing, not joining, The Farmacy. “What’s moving is the testimony in favor of what you’re doing currently.”

Fausett has run Sea of Dreams in the residence behind her father-in-law Kirk Fausett’s yellow commercial building on Marine Drive for the past six years. She’ll now be able to expand her space in the rear of the building and take up to 50 kids, adding that she’s never had a problem with the adjoining dispensary so far.

“It’s on the opposite side of the building, where the kids will be coming and going from the daycare,” she said. “They would have no access.”

City Planner Rosemary Johnson said that while dispensaries must be at least 1,000 feet from schools, there’s no regulation regarding their proximity to child care facilities. Staff recommended approving the Fausetts’ request.

Clatsop County has been in dire need of more child care since Coryell’s Crossing, which took care of up to 100 children in daycare, preschool and after-school programs in Warrenton, closed earlier this month. The first person to testify on Fausett’s behalf was Tara Mestrich, the county’s primary child care resource referral specialist through Oregon State University’s Extension Service.

“This is a huge need in this area,” said Mestrich, adding that there are 43 registered child care providers in Clatsop County, only 26 of them licensed to take more than three children.

There were 26 openings for child care in the county, said Mestrich, none of them for infants. Several parents have called, she added, telling her they had to leave jobs because there’s no one to watch their babies.

“Kelsy is one of the top requested child care providers in Clatsop County,” said Mestrich, followed by more positive testimonials by parents who use Sea of Dreams.

Kelly Smitherman, a child developmental specialist with the U.S. Coast Guard, said she’s heard from military families about the difficulty in finding child care, adding that Sea of Dreams would be a big advantage to service members.

Sea of Dreams will serve 15 to 25 children, 6 weeks to 12 years old, operating 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, which is outside Annie’s operating hours.

It will utilize customer parking on 29th Street, with employees parking at Kelsy Fausett’s residence behind the building. There will be two loading zones on Marine Drive in front of the building.

Planning Commission President Zetty Nemlowill, asked about the parking situation.

Kirk Fausett said that even if his daughter-in-law’s residence behind the building changed hands, it would retain the parking next to it. City Planner Rosemary Johnson said that if the house changed hands, thus changing the parking situation, the issue would have to come back to the Planning Commission.

Commissioner David Pearson said the child care facility would fit with the Mill Pond vision of creating a community within a community. Commissioner Sean Fitzpatrick added that his concerns about the proximity to a medical marijuana clinic had been met.

For more information on Sea of Dreams, call 503-298-0173 or email seaofdreams_childcare@yahoo.com

In other news, the Planning Commission:

• Approved larger signage on Williamsport Road for the Astoria Sports Complex. It also eased the complex’s landscaping requirements, allowing it to forgo landscape dividers to save parking spaces and from including trees, the roots of which might penetrate the cap atop the closed former city landfill the complex sits atop.

• Allowed Ryan Helligso of Nomadic Properties to expand an existing 2,000-square-foot professional office in the ground floor of the easternmost Cannery Lofts building with 3,000-square-feet additional space in the tourist-oriented shoreline zoning.