City rejects YWCA NWT application to open new daycare

YWCA NWT says it is “very disappointed” and considering its options after the City of Yellowknife rejected its application to open a daycare in the Niven neighbourhood.

The charity had applied to turn 101 Haener Drive into a daycare with room for around 30 children.

The city’s decision to refuse the application was published in a corner of a recent municipal newsletter.

In a statement to Cabin Radio late last week, City Hall said the YWCA application “was not approved because the proposal did not satisfy the change-of-use requirements of a dwelling to a daycare facility.”

Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, YWCA NWT’s executive director, said the organization had been told its application was rejected “due to non-compliance with the city’s plan for the Niven area, as well as concerns from some neighbours regarding potential noise pollution and traffic control related to the daycare operation.”

Dumbuya-Sesay said YWCA NWT staff were “working with our consultants to determine whether it is viable to submit a new application to the city.”

A new application, if it goes ahead, would reduce the number of places to 16 and include a traffic study to try to satisfy the city’s requirements.

“We have spent over $90,000 since the start of this project on consultant fees and supplies to meet the city’s requirements for the necessary upgrades in the building. We are now very concerned that if this project is unsuccessful, we will lose this money with no way to recoup it,” Dumbuya-Sesay said by email.

“Therefore, we sincerely hope that the city will be open to collaborating with us and supporting this project.”

City Hall, asked if an application for a 16-place daycare and a traffic study would make it any more confident of allowing YWCA NWT to go ahead, said it “cannot make any determination until a complete application is submitted.”

The city added that other groups had previously been able to successfully acquire the right to change a home into a daycare, as the YWCA is seeking to do.

“Daycares are permitted across the city and there are examples where changes of use from dwelling to daycare facility have occurred,” the city wrote.

‘We are not in favour’

Dumbuya-Sesay said YWCA NWT had been in discussions with the city about a new daycare since July 2023.

Paperwork on file at City Hall suggests an application was formally submitted in July 2024. The paperwork shows a planned occupancy of seven adults and up to 32 children.

The property in question is located at the corner of Haener Drive, Driscoll Road and Moyle Drive.

“Based on a review of the location, number of proposed building users and existing road layout, the proposed daycare facility introduces significant traffic and parking challenges that could interfere with transit operations,” City Hall’s review of the application states.

“The site is located on a bus route with a transit stop directly across the street, as well as two school bus stops nearby. The traffic congestion caused by drop-offs and pickups, limited parking, and difficult sight lines could obstruct buses and create unsafe conditions for both transit users and children.”

In its analysis, the city even admitted the current design of that corner is “inherently unsafe” because there’s no yield sign for northbound traffic on Driscoll Road and no crosswalk.

The development officer reported “significant concerns” from people who lived nearby.

“It is a tricky corner as it is,” one person wrote, according to a list of feedback provided by the city.

“That will create a great deal of congestion on an already uncontrolled and busy corner and intersection,” another person wrote of the proposal.

“Even though we appreciate the need for more daycares in Yellowknife, having a daycare in a residential area that is located on the corner near a busy street is not appropriate and we are not in favour,” read a third response, which cited noise pollution and lack of adequate parking among the author’s concerns.

The city’s own public works department echoed some of the residents’ feedback.

“Public Works has serious concerns about the traffic implications for this development. The lot is on a corner, with very little parking and difficult sight lines,” the department wrote according to the city’s documents.

“To have a daycare here for 32 kids is not appropriate.”

The department called for the number of children that could be accommodated to be “drastically reduced” to ease traffic at the location.

In closing, the city’s analysis stated: “Changes to the road and sidewalk layout would be required to address these challenges. However, such changes fall outside the scope of the current application and therefore a new application would need to be submitted to pursue these adjustments.”

YWCA NWT said it hoped reducing the number of children to 16 and producing a traffic study would lead to collaboration from City Hall to get a daycare approved.

“However, we are not confident that this will happen because the city has not been helpful in providing feedback or assisting us in navigating their concerns,” Dumbuya-Sesay wrote.

“The demand for childcare spaces continues to increase and many women are unable to enter the labour market due to difficulties in finding safe, affordable and reliable childcare for their children,” she added.

“We aim to address this need by providing childcare spaces so that families can access services from an organization that has been running after-school childcare programs for over 50 years in the Northwest Territories.”