vancouver advances proposal to allow homes to double as daycares
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the city of vancouver approved a report proposing zoning changes to allow more daycares in residential neighbourhoods.
elena bessonova
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getty images files/istockphoto
the city of vancouver is pushing forward with a proposal that would make it easier to open daycares with nine or more child-care spaces in residential neighbourhoods.
last week, councillors approved a report that seeks changing zoning and development bylaws to allow the creation of larger daycares in detached homes and homes with laneway houses.
under current rules, if a house is converted to a child daycare — which by the city’s definition is a facility with nine or more children — it cannot be used as a home.
“enabling a (daycare) with residential use on the same site can enable more opportunities for child care in residential zones while balancing the need to retain housing supply,” said the staff report, which notes there is a shortfall of 6,700 child care spaces in the city.
vancouver already allows child-care spaces for up to eight kids without a development permit, if the facilities meet provincial child-care regulations. there are 200 such facilities in the city, mostly operating under the provincial “family child-care” licence.
if approved, the bylaw change would allow a detached home to be converted to a daycare with a separate residential suite in the same building. for detached homes with a laneway house, it would allow the main house to be used as a child-care facility and the laneway house to be used as a residence.
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the proposal is only for single-detached homes and single-detached homes with a laneway house, not for mixed-use residential or higher-density lots, said the report. it is only for existing houses that would be converted to daycare facilities, not for new builds.
the daycare facility and the residence are required to have separate external access and no shared internal access.
councillors approved the report. a public hearing will be set at a later date.
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