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Efforts to shrink the size of future day cares in West Vancouver residential zones were dropped Monday, with councillors citing the need to hold out until better solutions to the need for day care spots can be provided.
District staff had proposed limiting day cares to eight children -- down from the current 20-child limit -- amid some residents' concerns about noise and traffic near Evergreen Early Child Hood Daycare at Taylor Way and Anderson Crescent.
But the mayor and four councillors opposed the limit -- at least until two reports suggesting solutions to the lack of day-care spots return to council by the early summer.
"The world is changing. There used to be 20 children on every block and no one thought twice about it," commented Mayor Pam Goldsmith-Jones.
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Coun. Jean Ferguson said the district should support such small, family-owned businesses like day cares.
"West Vancouver interestingly is a community with almost the highest number per capita of home-based businesses, and this bylaw will be preventing a viable home-based business," said Ferguson.
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Couns. Vivian Vaughn and Bill Soprovich were in favour of capping the day care sizes, and said that, instead, other solutions should be pursued.
"It really isn't the best solution. Because we would be solving one problem and causing other problems," said Vaughn, who suggested space could be found elsewhere, like local schools.
"The logical place to go is the elementary school," Vaughn argued.
Soprovich was a staunch supporter of the limits, saying that the measures were necessary to protect the integrity of single-family neighbourhoods.
"This is wrong not to pass this bylaw at this important time. We can make amendments to the bylaw at any time, based on all the work we have to do in the future about day cares," argued Soprovich.
Child care reappeared as a pressing issue for West Vancouver council in November 2006, when some neighbours near the Evergreen Early Child Hood Daycare rallied against a proposed second location on the street.
The neighbours said noise and traffic from the day care would be too much, and council directed staff to suggest solutions.
But last week parents of children in day cares flooded council chambers at the public hearing for the bylaw, asking council to cancel such limits, especially given the drastic need for day-care spots on the North Shore.
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- reprinted from the North Shore News