Mayor breathes second life into rejected Port Coquitlam daycare

Port Coquitlam, B.C.’s, mayor is reviving the prospects of a proposed 65-space daycare that met with a surprise rejection at council last week.

The facility, which would include 41 preschool and 24 infant spaces, was proposed to replace a residential home at 1948 Grant Avenue.

Its application met with unanimous approval at each of the first two readings at council, but was met with vocal opposition from eight neighbours at a public hearing on Oct. 1o, and ultimately voted down by all but one councillor.

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At the meeting, residents raised a range of concerns, from traffic and parking on the residential street to the effect on property values to safety concerns about bears in the area.

“I think that to be quite absurd, actually,” Mayor Brad West said of the bear concerns.

West, who was not in council for the decisive vote, said he will be using his power under the Community Charter to bring the matter back to council for reconsideration.

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West said while some of the concerns raised at the hearing, like the prospect of bears, appeared frivolous, others like parking and traffic were reasonable — but not insurmountable.

He said when such concerns come up during project applications, proponents typically have the opportunity to respond to them or make changes to their proposal.

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“I think a step was missed here,” West said.

“I feel very confident that those concerns that are legitimate there’s answers to those, and I would hate to see us miss out on needed childcare spots without going through that step.”

As a father of two himself, West added that he was well aware that there is a “great need for child care” in the city.

Amar Kallu, founder of Little Warriors Childcare Society, said he was surprised when councillors voted the proposal down.

Kallu said that there had been broad support for the facility through every previous step of the application, with most concerns focusing on the design of the facility rather than traffic issues.

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“I am very much appreciative of Mayor Brad West reconsidering this. I believe he and I know their child care needs assessment that daycare in PoCo is badly needed, especially infant toddler space,” he said.

Port Coquitlam’s own Child Care Action Plan, adopted in 2021, targets the addition of 145 new spaces per year in the city to meet its growing population.

Grace Lore, B.C.’s minister of state responsible for child care, said the province wouldn’t intervene in any such local decision, but applauded the city for taking another look at the project.

“We need child care in communities across the province, and in all parts of those communities, including residential,” she said.

“It has the benefit of being near families. You can imagine families being able to walk their child to their child care, so I do think it’s important for us to look at all opportunities to build child care.”

Port Coquitlam city council is slated to meet next on Tuesday, Oct. 24.