Calgary considers child care in all city-owned buildings after learning it's not allowed in one

Space set aside for child care in an affordable housing tower owned by the City of Calgary is going unused because the city's land-use bylaw for the areadoesn't allow for child care.

"So, to be clear: We built a building with space in it for child care but we gave it a [bylaw]that didn't allow for child care?" Mayor Naheed Nenshi said.

"Oops."

• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Chu and Nenshi clash over Calgary's new electoral boundaries
• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Ryan Lane 'murdered to keep him from seeing his daughter,' says Crown

Coun. Brian Pincottsaid theLuminotower at 5717 2St. S.W. the same one struck bymonths-long delaysbecause it was initially built without a sewer main has been without child care since opening inDecember 2013.

"As we got a tour of the building, we were shown where the child-care facility was going to be ... and it's still sitting empty," Pincott said of the facility, which is managed by the Calgary Housing Corporation.

Council agreed to amend the land-use bylaw governing the Lumino tower while also taking things a step further on the child-care front.

'Bigger conversation'

Coun. Gian-CarloCarrasaid the bylaw issue atLumino "opened up sort of a bigger conversation about the idea that child care is sometimes a tough thing to locate, but it's a really important thing to locate around the city as broadly as we can."

Council voted in favour of a proposal fromCarra andPincottcalling on city staff to prepare a report on the potential to allow for space in allcity-ownedbuildings to allow for child-care services, on a discretionary basis.

"I think child care is fundamental to having a successful city," Carra said, adding that the types of facilities he has in mind wouldhave to operate on a not-for-profit basis.

"We don't want to kink the market," he said.