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City council is set to decide whether daycares need to have outdoor play areas to operate.
Dennis Shewfelt, city manager, said last Thursday he and the planning department are recommending that daycares that don't have five square metres of outdoor play area for children, currently required under the zoning bylaw, be permitted to operate.
He said the recommendation, if accepted, would mean daycare operators can run their businesses if they are located near city parks or school yards, provided they have written permission of the owners to bring children there to play.
"Generally speaking, residential areas don't have a lot of space.
"We've (also) got information that even daycares that have outdoor space are taking kids to other areas."
He said the move would also make it easier to locate child care operations in commercial areas.
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Pat Ross, subdivision and lands co-ordinator for the planning department, said if council decides to remove the outdoor play area requirements in the zoning bylaw daycares in residential areas would still have to be located on a corner lot, or next to a public park.
According to a city report, the changes in the zoning bylaw are intended to bring daycare rules in line with the Yukon's Child Care Act.
- reprinted from Whitehorse Daily Star