A 90-spot daycare is one step closer to opening its doors after the Estevan city council gave them its permit last night.

The 24/7 daycare is looking to be set up at the West Estevan Mall, located at 1175 Nicholson Road just across from St. Joseph's Hospital.

A variety of factors were considered by Land Development Services, who looked at how the location could serve as a daycare.

A parking analysis showed that there is more than sufficient parking to accommodate the proposed use without limiting parking availability to the remainder of the property.

It was also recommended that the approval be subject to standard conditions related to servicing, landscaping, parking, and more.

Land Development Services Manager Richard Neufeld was present at the meeting, explaining that he's already heard back from the community on the project.

"I've only received one inquiry since the notice went out, this is a discretionary use of course. That was a phone call in support - typically I don't see phone calls in support when things go out, so that was nice to see."

The process isn't over for the proposed daycare, as they'll also need to reach out to the province.

"If council were to give approval to this proposal, their next step would be to do their building permits and get that in order, because a daycare is a higher-end building code requirement than a doctor's office, then once that's all done it's off to the ministry of education for a business license."

Before passing the permit, the councillors praised the new development while hoping that it would also be a source of well-paying jobs for daycare workers.

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