Bylaw changes that would significantly expand the number of locations where daycare providers can operate in Coquitlam are going to a public hearing Monday evening.
Andrew Merrill, manager of community planning, said the the city wants to make it easier for child care facilities to locate in the municipality and not limit them to certain zones.
"We want to reduce the unnecessary regulatory barriers," he said. "We are allowing child care in more areas of the city than what is allowed today."
For example, under the current regulations, standalone daycare facilities are not permitted in the townhouse residential zone, something that will change if the bylaw amendment is approved by council.
The city is also looking at altering the types of commercial zones where child care facilities are permitted. Currently, daycares are not allowed in smaller local commercial zones but are allowed in big-box, highway-oriented commercial areas. The proposed bylaw amendment would reverse that, opening the door for facilities in less auto-dependent parts of the city closer to park amenities.
"The idea is to make kids legal everywhere," Merrill said. "Child care was not a permitted use in local commercial zones. Those zones are the types of commercial space that happens in residential neighbourhoods."
The proposed changes going to council Monday come as staff begin the year-long process of developing a child care strategy for the city.
Merrill said the zoning tweaks and the establishment of a consistent definition for child care were "easy early wins" that could be taken care of right away.
"We don't need to wait a year for the strategy to be done to remove those regulatory barriers," he said.
One issue that will be looked at during the development of the strategy is how parking is regulated for child care facilities.
Under existing regulations, a traffic study is required when a daycare opens. Staff have said that a more relaxed approach to parking standards could help simplify the application process.
But the biggest hurdle Merrill foresees in increasing child care spaces in the city is making it affordable for working families, and funding from higher levels of government will be necessary.
As the federal and provincial governments begin to offer financial incentives to daycare providers, he said, the city wants to be ready for operators looking to set up in the area.
"This is about getting our municipal house in order so that we are ready for the federal and provincial government," Merrill said.
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