Peachland鈥檚 yet-to-be-built new childcare centre will have two-thirds the parking stalls originally planned for the building.
At its May 20 meeting, council approved reducing the number of on-site parking stalls from 33 to just 12. Two passenger loading stalls initially required were also eliminated.
Staff pointed out that construction of Wild Goose Street, between the building and Peachland Elementary, will provide an estimated 20 on-street parking spots.
鈥淚t鈥檚 anticipated that more than 50 per cent of the attending children will walk to and from the elementary school and will not need to be dropped off,鈥� Planning Manager Jared Kassel told council.
It鈥檚 expected that facility staff will be the only users in need of long-term parking, and that the remaining stalls will be adequate for pickup/drop-off and short-term parking.
"If we're getting more getting more on the street than we are losing from the parking space area on the property, I'm good with that," said Councillor Alena Glasman.
Council also approved a variance to shift the building slightly further away from nearby Trepanier Creek.
Kassel said that technically the property is large enough to accommodate the building footprint without setback variances.
鈥淗owever, the environmental constraints and corresponding riparian setbacks from the creek dictate that the childcare building needs to be shifted further west, away from the creek.鈥�
Staff noted that no public feedback was received in response to the notification of the proposed variances.
In August 2024, the district received $12.2 million in funding through ChildCare BC鈥檚 New Spaces Fund to build the centre, which will offer 48 spaces for children aged 0鈥�5 and 56 spaces for school-aged children.
Construction on the facility is expected to start soon. Once completed, it will be operated by the Boys and Girls Club of the Okanagan.
