To the community of Blackfalds,

We are in the process of expanding our daycare center to open more childcare spaces and to offer an out of school care program for the community of Blackfalds. The need for childcare in Blackfalds is higher then ever right now especially with the new affordability childcare grant implemented by the federal government.

Currently all suitable commercial areas for locating a daycare center are within the C-2 Highway Commercial district for land use, which currently does not permit daycare centers, even as a discretionary use.

We are hoping to open a new location for September 2022 to be able to provide care for any children needing out of school care for the new school year. In order to accomplish this, time is of the essence and we do need to start our construction as soon as possible. We can promise that this new location is the perfect spot for an expansion of our center and meets all the requirements we need to provide a much-needed service for the community.

We understand that a land use bylaw amendment, as part of a broader land use bylaw review, is being presented to the council this month that includes a change to the C-2 zoning to include daycare centers. We respectively request that should an issue arise within the broader amendment that results in delaying any reading, we would appreciate, along with all the parents and community members of Blackfalds who have attached their names, to deal with the daycare provision separately as its own amendment.

Thank you for your time and consideration,