Residents concerned over ‘excessive’ daycare planned in Springbank Hill

A group of residents in Calgary's southwest community of Springbank Hill is in an uproar over a new daycare proposed in the neighbourhood.

A group of residents in Springbank Hill are pushing back against a 164-space day care development in the neighborhood, saying the proposed plan for the site has changed drastically from when it was initially proposed to the city.

People who live nearby say they are concerned about the increased traffic flow, parking capacity, noise, and what they believe to be a lack of public consultation.

The site of the planned daycare is on a 0.39 hectare parcel of land in the southwest corner of 26 Avenue SW and Elysian Crescent SW.

City council redesignated the land from residential to direct control to accommodate child care services in November 2023, but neighbours say they were left under the impression the current house on site was being repurposed to be used for around 26 child care spaces.

They were shocked to learn a permit was approved for the development of a new 164-space building on the land, which includes a large retention wall, last month.

“It wasn’t kind of what we signed up for when we bought here because we thought commercial areas were fairly well defined, and all of a sudden they are starting to put this in the middle of us,” said Neil Belcher, who lives in a villa condo complex directly beside the site.

Elysian Village has 36 units, made up of mostly retirees.

A private road accesses the condo complex off 26th avenue and residents say it is already congested due to traffic and a lack of parking from the nearby Griffith Woods School.

They worry the daycare site will only compound the problem.

“It is about two fence panel widths from the driveway of the proposed daycare,” said Sharon Osterling. “That’s our access to the outside world and that’s emergency services access to us.”

Osterling believes the community should have been given more opportunity to weigh in on the site, given how the initial design has changed.

“It doesn’t bear any resemblance to the information that was put before administration and towards the planning commission at the time of the rezoning designation,” she said. “I just don’t think it’s right to exclude communities that are most affected by construction projects from being able to influence the way the product looks at the end.”

Appeal

Trish Fehr, the president of the Elysian Village Condos Corporation, said the community submitted an appeal last week to the city but aren’t hopeful they’ll be heard.

“It’s just unfair, it’s a miscarriage of justice to allow someone to make this change without any input from anyone in the community,” she said. “I think all communities and all Calgarians should be really concerned about this.”

The president of the Springbank Hill Community Association shares similar concerns.

“Residents as key stakeholders are not being heard,” said Elio Cozzi. “We are not against daycares, we think it would be great to have other daycares in the area but we just think the scope of this project is a bit excessive.”

The city said a public hearing was held before the land use amendment application was passed in November 2023.

The city follows a standard review and public notification process whenever a development permit application is submitted.

“This includes: on-site signage, circulation to internal and external groups (including the local community association), information about the proposal is posted on the City’s Development Map webpage where people can learn more, and advertising when required,” the statement reads in part.

It confirms the daycare centre’s development permit application is currently under appeal.

More information on the Subdivision and Development Appeal Board (SDAB) and active appeals can be found at: Active Appeals / Public Reports

CTV did make attempts to contact the landowner but did not hear back.