OLDS — Town council has passed a bylaw to allow commercial daycare facilities in the community’s shopping centre commercial district (C-SC).
The bylaw was passed during council’s Feb. 13 meeting.
The change to the town’s land use bylaw was spurred after town staff received an application to allow a commercial daycare facility in a strip mall at 4513 52nd Ave, the mall next to Smitty’s Restaurant.
Specifically, the applicant is interested in locating the daycare operation in units 16A and 16B, which are in the northwest section of the strip mall.
The bylaw enacting the change was passed after a public hearing on the request was held.
As is the case with public hearings, an opportunity was given for people to speak to the matter, including the applicant. But no one spoke up, so the bylaw went to a vote.
Sarmad Abbasi, a planner with Parkland Community Planning Services, explained that the bylaw was necessary because up until Feb. 13, there was no specific permission for daycares to exist in commercial shopping districts in Olds.
He said allowing daycare operations in strip malls is “a common practice among municipalities in Alberta.”
“It’s not uncommon to go to a strip mall and see a daycare facility operating out of there, and we would like something similar,” Abbasi said. “And the reason for that is because it seems to be a compatible use.”
Abbasi noted that as is the procedure, the bylaw to make the change was given first reading on Jan. 9, thereby setting the stage for it to come back to council for the public hearing and a chance for final approval.
During the interval between Jan. 9 and Feb. 13, the proposed change was advertised and circulated to adjacent landowners, as required. Abbasi said no comments or objections were received.
