The home childcare controversy is returning to Loudoun -- this time in Broadlands.

Déjà vu?

It was exactly one year ago that similar disputes were taking place in Lansdowne-on-the-Potomac and Ashburn Farms.

Some Loudoun developments have a strict policy against home-based preschools or daycares in their HOA rules and regulations. Other communities simply adhere to county and state mandates.

The climbing dome at Little Sprouts Preschool. (Photos by Erica Garman)

Several neighbors adjacent to the Little Sprouts Preschool in Broadlands showed up at last night’s HOA board meeting to express their concerns about a busy childcare business on their once-quiet cul-de-sac. A handful of parents were there in support of the program.

Lisa Carino and other neighbors complained that the preschool is to be blamed for the constant stream of cars in and out of their block -- in addition to the occasional speeding parent late for pick-up.

“There are 17 homes on our street and 35 children under the age of 16 who live and play here,” she told the board. “It’s not safe for our kids -- an accident is inevitable if this continues.”

Carino said she and her neighbors don’t want to shut the business down -- they just want to see more limits set by the HOA. “If this were on a main thoroughfare, like another home-based preschool in the Broadlands, this may not be an issue,” she said, “but this is in a cul-de-sac, and it wasn’t meant for this much traffic.”

A sign at Little Sprouts Preschool.

Karlene Baker, who runs Little Sprouts Preschool from her home, admits that she was not compliant with county regulations when she first began operating her childcare facility -- she had more kids than allowed. Since being visited by a childcare inspector, Baker has limited the amount of children she now cares for to five, as mandated by the county, until she becomes fully licensed. When that happens, she plans on offering classes for up to nine children, five days a week, including a one-evening-a-month “date night” and a summer program.

Alyson Frost, a mother of four, has been very happy with Baker’s preschool program, and doesn’t want to see it closed down. “My daughter asks every morning ‘Can I go to school today?’ -- she loves it and it’s close enough that we walk over,” she said.

“Our HOA docs state that a home-based business is legit if it is compliant and legal with the county, which [the Bakers] are in the process of doing,” said Cliff Keirce, Broadlands HOA president.

Keirce moved to table the discussion to next month, saying he wants to consult with other area HOA presidents on the issue.