A group of Westmount residents is taking its battle to court in hopes of stopping a daycare from opening in the west Edmonton neighbourhood.
The plan for the family-owned child care centre in an old church in the area of 125 Street and 110 Avenue outlines space for up to 120 kids. Years ago, the church operated a Sunday school program for kids. Since then, the building has been a daycare and more recently a residential home.
The way the property is currently zoned allows for a daycare, but residents became concerned about the project earlier this year when the daycare operators, Gurpreet Ranu and his family, applied for a variance in parking.
Residents appealed the approval of a business permit with the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board and lost. Now they’re taking their battle to court. Concerns cited by residents include a lack of parking, an increase in traffic and noise.
The president of the Westmount Community League said while the league is not taking sides, she’s heard from residents both passionately for and against the daycare.
“There is a particular value in the community that would support a daycare because it creates livability, it creates a neighbourhood where people can live and work,” Carla Stolte said.
“That being said, the fears and the identified issues around parking and traffic is very valid. So it’s a tough one.”
Kelly Bruzzese has lived across the street from the daycare property for five years. The new mother said she was initially excited about the idea of having a daycare so close to home, but admitted her stance changed when she learned of the size of the business.
“I know a lot of community members have cited other things, but it’s the size and the traffic that it’s going to draw into the area,” Bruzzese said.
She’s particularly concerned about how narrow the streets become in the winter.
Because it’s a residential area, large windrows pile up on the sides of street, which only leaves room for one direction of traffic at a time.
“I just envision excited kids popping out in between cars and parents rushing and I just don’t want anybody to get hurt,” she said.
“Can my child play outside safely in the front yard? Or now are we confined to the backyard? I’m excited about it but I also have some issues with it that haven’t been addressed and that’s why I don’t necessarily really completely support the child care at this point.”
The operator of the daycare declined to comment on camera, claiming his family has been threatened with violence over the business.
Ranu issued a statement to Global News which said his family hosted two open houses and went door-knocking in the neighbourhood to inform residents of their plans before the appeal process began. Ranu also said he is committed to working with residents to address their concerns.
“A rotating outdoor play schedule was proposed to minimize concerns with noise and we have also pledged to support any community initiatives to deal with the pre-existing traffic issues that have been raised,” he said.
“Going forward, we will continue to make efforts to engage our immediate neighbours to develop traffic policies that will minimize the impact of traffic from parents dropping their children off at the daycare.”
Ranu said his family offered to drop the capacity of the daycare to 110 kids, but the residents’ appeal asked it be dropped to 40.
The community league and Bruzzese hope a solution can be found that works for everyone.
“I understand that the need for child care is there. I mean, I would gladly use it. But either you need to address the traffic issues or you need to lower the amount of cars coming in and out of the area and so far, there hasn’t really been anybody trying to meet in the middle,” Bruzzese said.
“We just want it to be safe. I think that’s reasonable.”
Ranu, whose family has operated Rainbow Daycare and Out of School Care in south Edmonton for more than a decade, said his family chose Westmount because of the need for child care in the neighbourhood.
With files from Vinesh Pratap, Global News.
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