City proposes solution to ‘childcare desert’ in Colorado Springs
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - The Colorado Springs Planning Department said the city's development code could be limiting families' access to childcare.
The planning department outlined its concerns in a new proposal. The proposal said the city introduced new restrictions in 2023 on prospective business owners interested in opening childcare facilities. In May of 2024, KRDO13 reported that Colorado Springs had become a "childcare desert."
According to the recent proposal, the 2023 Unified Development Code (UDC) restrictions do not allow individuals to open new childcare facilities in their homes, businesses, churches, or other spaces where childcare would serve a secondary purpose. It also created a more rigorous process for business owners to obtain permits to open childcare facilities.
While the restrictions created a higher standard for new childcare centers, the planning department is now saying the added red tape has deterred people from opening new childcare facilities at the rate needed to support Colorado Springs' growing community.
The new proposal would walk these restrictions back, allowing people to open childcare facilities as part of their already functioning infrastructure and streamlining the approval process for both childcare and adult care facilities.
The new childcare ordinance is still open for public feedback. You can take the survey here.
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