The operator of a daycare centre proposed for Cookstown wants equal treatment from Innisfil council.
Lori Edwards of the Magic Years Children’s Centre wants her project exempted from site plan regulations after council cut the red tape for a proposed Montessori daycare last month.
In a letter to council, Edwards wrote the cost of complying with the town’s site plan controls has already delayed the daycare’s opening by at least six months.
“The reason I have not been able to go ahead with the start-up phase is because of the time and expense it will cost me to enter into the site plan,” Edwards wrote. “It has already taken me two years to find and zone a location. I have had to take employment at a retail store to help my family make ends meet because of the expected delay.”
On Oct. 29, council agreed to lift restrictions against a daycare Lisa-Anne Hegger wants to operate in the historic Baptist Church on Goldie Street. Council agreed that since Hegger already had to meet several regulations under the Nurseries Act, site plan control was not needed.
Now Edwards is arguing for similar treatment, saying the provincial regulations a licensed daycare must meet are already onerous enough.
“I could begin to meet the Day Nursery standards and realistically be up and running within a year. But right now I am at a standstill trying to financially keep this house and save money for site plan control. It is not an easy task.”
Edwards pointed out other municipalities, including Barrie and Essa, do not require site plan controls for new daycare centres.
“As you are aware, it is very difficult to obtain a licence to run a daycare centre,” Edwards wrote. “I have several governing bodies, and their regulations, I have to abide by.”
Magic Years Children’s Centre would be the first licensed daycare in Cookstown.
While the Belle Ewart daycare has been exempted from the site plan controls, the project is still at a standstill.
Hegger’s dream of running a licensed daycare is on hold after a deal to purchase the Baptist Church fell through. Hegger and church members reached an impasse over repairs needed to bring the historic building up to code.
Meanwhile, Edwards request for equal treatment in Cookstown has been sent to the town’s planning department. Planning director Robert McAuley will report to council with recommendations.
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