The City of Burnaby says it’s cutting the red tape to allow child-care facilities throughout all its residential areas and some of its light industrial and employment districts.
Council unanimously approved a swathe of changes to bylaws on where child-care can be built at a meeting Oct. 7.
The changes will allow home-based child-care facilities for up to eight kids within any home (including secondary suites) on a residentially zoned lot.
The facilities will be allowed in up to two homes per lot in the recently created “R1” zone for multiplex homes, with the written support from the owners of the other homes on the lot.
The city previously restricted child-care facilities to operating in one home per “principal building” on a lot and prohibited them in homes with secondary basement suites.
Staff say the changes will support more spaces in family neighbourhoods and reduce vehicle trips, according to a report.
Standalone child-care facilities with up to 25 children will also be permitted throughout the R1 zone, as long as there are no homes on the lot and the facility meets the same conditions as a single-family home.
The standalone facilities will be restricted to corner lots to allow for parking, pickup and drop off.
Coun. Maita Santiago said she was pleased to see changes making it easier to build child care in family neighbourhoods, noting the city has a target to create 4,400 new spaces by 2030.
Director of community planning Johannes Schuman said staff can’t say exactly how many spaces the bylaw will unlock (as the number will depend on developers choosing to build a facility).
“We’re trying to, as much as possible, encourage it on every site,” Schumann said.
Where else can child care be built in Burnaby?
The changes don’t only apply to single-family and multiplex areas of the city.
Technical amendments are coming to multi-family apartment zones, known as “RM” zones, which will exclude child-care facilities from certain development calculations.
Staff said including child-care in the calculations has hindered building new child care, as developers have chosen the more profitable option of building housing rather than child-care centres.
The report said excluding child care from the calculations will “remove the conflict between housing and child-care priorities.”
Further, the city will also allow child-care facilities in certain employment districts including light industrial areas and business centres, which staff said will provide child care near a parent’s workplace, reduce vehicle trips, allow for residents’ work-life balance, and provide an amenity for employers to offer their employees.
Fraser Health will determine on a case-by-case basis if the child-care facility is compatible with a light industrial area under the provincial licensing process, which requires an environment that is free of health and safety hazards.
The city is also reducing off-street parking requirements for child-care centres and excluding the facilities from loading-space requirements, which staff said have been a frequent barrier to building new child-care spaces.
The report says the city did “extensive consultation” with parents, child-care providers, Fraser Health and the Burnaby School District.
The effects of the bylaw will be monitored and revisited as necessary before a new zoning bylaw is introduced at the end of 2025.
