Port Coquitlam council reverses rejection of child-care facility
'There were comments that have no basis in reality,' mayor said about public hearing that led to rejection
Council in Port Coquitlam, B.C., has reversed its decision on a 65-unit child-care facility on a residential street, two weeks after it rejected the application following a contentious public hearing.
"It's perhaps a little messy, but it's the way the system works," said Mayor Brad West, who missed the original meeting where the rezoning plan was rejected, and used his powers under the Community Charter to ask for a reconsideration of the vote.
He also critiqued members of the public who told councillors to reject the child-care facility because it would reduce their property values, or be unsafe for the children attending it.
"There were comments that have no basis in reality, or any factual underpinning to them," he said.
"If we are of the opinion that this street is so unsafe that it cannot have a daycare on site, then we have a much bigger problem ... why are there any children being raised on this street?"
West's amendment to the rezoning, which requires staff to bring forward solutions to some of the parking and design issues cited by residents, passed 6-1, with only Coun. Dean Washington opposed.
"Taking the time to process is the key takeaway here," said Coun. Paige Petriw, who originally voted against the proposal.
"Sometimes you need a little more information."
The city's original rejection attracted plenty of attention, including from the provincial government.
"The decision by Port Coquitlam is disappointing," said Minister of State for Child Care Grace Lore.
"We don't have plans at this time to legislate [child-care requirements], but we're continuing to ask municipalities to come to the table to … make sure we're getting child-care spaces built."
Most B.C. daycares 100% full
The creation of licensed subsidized child-care spaces requires several layers of government: the province is responsible for funding and health authorities are responsible for licensing, but cities are responsible for approving spaces as being permissible for child-care use.
In most cities, that often requires specific rezoning hearings or staff approvals, based on specific land-use policies.
But the need for more child-care spaces is clear across the province, based on data provided by the provincial government.
While it was unable to provide information on the number of overall spaces available by municipality, of the 5,215 licensed child-care facilities in B.C., just 39.6 per cent have a single vacancy at the moment, at any age range.
Some areas of the province have a decently large amount of facilities with child-care availability, particularly in the Fraser Valley: 62 per cent in Pitt Meadows, along with 61 per cent in Abbotsford and 60 per cent in Mission.
But the issue is particularly acute in some of the oldest and most densest communities in the province: just 37 per cent of Vancouver facilities have vacancies, 35 per cent in Burnaby, 34 per cent in Kamloops and 32 per cent in Greater Victoria.
Delta votes to allow child-care spaces everywhere
"It's absolutely not a surprise," said Vancouver Coun. Mike Klassen.
Vancouver city council asked staff in late 2022 to work to harmonize its child-care requirements and design guidelines with the province so spaces could be approved at a quicker pace, a change they are still waiting for.
But Klassen believes the backlash to both the original Port Coquitlam decision and a staff decision to reject a child-care facility next to a park in Vancouver show a changing mood on what the public feels is appropriate for local government to regulate in the child-care sphere.
"I think that the mood has changed in the public and that's because there is such a huge shortage of childcare spaces," he said.
Some municipalities are moving quickly to change their overall approach. On Monday, Delta council voted to approve "child-care facility" as a permitted use in all areas of the city.
"We're not asking operators who are not developers to go through a costly, complex and cost-prohibitive process simply to do what we really need, which is looking after kids," said Delta Coun. Dylan Kruger.
As an example of why change was needed, Kruger cited a recent child-care facility application on Scott Road that took 18 months to get approved at the local level .
He implied that Delta wanted to avoid the type of situation that Port Coquitlam had found itself in.
"You can have nine people showing up to a public hearing ... that shut down an application that otherwise sailed through the process," he said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
