Rezoning Application for a Proposed Child Care Facility at 1001 Royal Avenue

At our November meeting the proponent was suppose to make a presentation about this project. However, this has been postponed.

The following is the information that has been provided.

Purpose:

The application to the City of New Westminster is to consider an amendment to the Zoning Bylaw to establish a child care facility on the upper floor as a permitted principal (instead of accessory) use at 1001 Royal Avenue.

Proposal:

The proposal is to develop a child care facility which will serve between 40 and 60 children. This facility, which will be located on the upper floor of a newly renovated building, meets Building and Licensing requirements for the use in question. It also offers access to outdoor play space, which, with minimal cost, can be retrofitted to meet Provincial Licensing requirements with no loss of parking.

Benefits:

The facility will address child care needs in both the Downtown and Uptown sub-areas of the City and will alleviate some of the demand for out-of-school care spaces at John Robson Elementary School. Additionally, the program will be multicultural in scope and will teach ESL, which will benefit immigrant and refugee families who have settled in New Westminster.

Neighbourhood Impacts:

The child care facility will be served by nine off-street parking spaces – i.e., three for staff and six for drop-offs and pick-ups. The drop-off times will occur between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. and the pick-up times will occur between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. with the vast majority of drop-offs and pick-ups taking no more than five minutes. The timeframe for drop-offs and pick-ups is quite lengthy and should serve to balance out demand for parking for these purposes. Additionally, a number of families will drop-off and pick-up more than one child (siblings), which will further reduce demand for parking, as well as reduce related traffic flows, during the times in question.

Process:

The rezoning amendment bylaw was presented to City Council for consideration of First and Second Reading on November 24, 2008. City Council gave the first two readings and will set a public hearing date for January 2009. The rezoning amendment was also discussed by the Advisory Planning Commission at its meeting on November 25, 2008.

Letters of notification have been forwarded to 352 property owners and occupants in the immediate area of the site proposed for rezoning; all residents’ associations; the Chair of the Board of School Trustees; and the Superintendent of Schools.

For more information, go to:
http://www.newwestcity.ca/cityhall/Leg_Info/Electronic_Packages/2008/1124_Nov24/CW/Reports/cw13.pdf