Springbank Hill residents lose bid to stop construction of daycare

A group of residents in southwest Calgary have lost their bid to stop a new daycare centre from being built in their neighbourhood.

A group of residents in southwest Calgary has lost its bid to stop the construction of a proposed 164-space daycare centre in their neighbourhood.

The Calgary Subdivision and Appeal Board ruled in favour of a daycare on 26th Avenue in Springbank Hill, allowing it to transition from a private home to a much larger facility.

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

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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 went from that to a 164-child daycare facility, almost 10,000 sq ft in coverage and 37 parking spots. That is just not appropriate in an R1 neighbourhood and not at all what we were led to believe would be going in there,” Sharon Osterling, a homeowner in the area, said.

Residents call the city’s decision “frustrating,” citing concerns about traffic issues, with congestion already a problem due to a nearby elementary school.

“We live off our pensions and our savings, and now we’re in a situation where we’re facing potentially legal action to try to do the right thing by this community because a facility that size and that location makes no business sense at all,” Osterling said.

Residents have not decided whether they plan to appeal Thursday’s decision.

With files from Teri Fikowski