by KRISTIAN GRAVENOR

For decades, children have gleefully scampered, swung and rode the slides in cozy Somerville Park, where their joyous cries rang through the small playground just south of Claremont and Sherbrooke.

But the sound of children playing hasn’t charmed the hearts of three or four well-heeled neighbours, who have complained to officials by telephone of the wee ones’ persistent presence in the park. As a result of the complaints, Westmount borough officials are vigorously investigating the legal status of a nearby daycare that brings their children to the park to play.

"I have my staff working on it," says Borough Director Bruce St. Louis. "We’re just trying to find out what the rules of the games are and what the applicable laws are."

In 2000, Evelyn Wajcer moved her 80-child KIDS Westmount Daycare - home to young’uns aged two to five, many from Westmount - from Metcalfe and Ste-Catherine to Grosvenor and Ste-Catherine. She says she always had the blessings of provincial daycare bureaucrats to use the outdoor spot - daycares are, in fact, required to bring children outdoors at least once a day. Indeed, she reports that the same fonctionnaires recently renewed her permit for another three years. But that hasn’t stopped the Westmount officials from questioning the province about her practice of bringing the children to the public tot lot.

"What is clear is that the borough of Westmount has a rather unfavourable view of preschools, schools and daycares because they believe that they bring noise and traffic," says Wajcer.

So seriously are the child-noise complaints being taken that one city official reportedly suggested to her that the time-honoured space could be closed to kids forever. "One of the officials we spoke to said that maybe they’ll just turn [the park] into a community garden," she says, although three Westmount officials interviewed by the Mirror deny having made the comment.

Borough Chairman Karin Marks, who says she has personally received only one complaint about the issue, is taking the issue seriously nonetheless. She suggests that the KIDS daycare transform the roof of their building or the parking space behind it into a playzone for children.

Marks suggests that KIDS’ use of the park has led to overcrowding and that a lack of bathroom facilities means the tiny children sometimes pee in the bushes. "They can’t always bring them all back when somebody has to go to the bathroom," says Marks.

The officials also hope to make a stand against a potential future influx of other child-care facilities in the area. "Prior to the KIDS daycare arrival, you’d have four or five kids in that park. What happens to these parks if another opens at de Maisonneuve or Victoria?" asks Marks.

Borough Councillor Cynthia Lulham also thinks the daycare kid invasion is a serious problem, at least potentially. "We’re looking at the greater picture," she says. "We don’t control the zoning on the other side of Claremont, so presumably somebody else could open a daycare and also use this park as their play yard." :