Bristol, PA Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

A day care center in the Bristol Borough Zoning Code is Use 2D in § 27-320: a facility in which out-of-home day care is provided to four or more children, disabled persons and/or elderly, and the use may also include nursery school. The outdoor recreation area must provide a minimum of 200 square feet for each child and 100 square feet for each disabled or elderly person. It must be located to the side or the rear of the lot, cannot include any parking areas, and must be fully enclosed by a four-foot high fence and sufficiently screened and insulated to protect the neighborhood from inappropriate noise and other disturbance. Sufficient facilities for passenger loading and unloading are required, and a license from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is required.

Accessory and home-based care follows separate standards. Use 7C, a day care center accessory to an office, covers care for seven or more children under the age of 12 where the care area is not used as a family residence. Only one is permitted in any Planned Business Park, it cannot occupy more than 5% of the total floor area of the office building or planned business park, and it must comply with all state licensing requirements. Use 7E, a family day care center, covers four to six children or up to four disabled and/or elderly persons in a family residence. It needs a special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board and a registration certificate from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and/or the Pennsylvania Department of Aging before the Zoning Officer issues a permit.

Building safety. Under § 5-302, approved automatic sprinkler equipment shall be installed and maintained throughout children's nurseries and day care centers, including day nurseries, whether the building exists now or is hereafter erected or converted to that use. Under § 5-306, detailed plans for any sprinkler installation must first be approved in writing by the representative appointed by resolution of Borough Council for plan review and inspections.

Bristol Borough lists Use 2D as a special exception in R-1, R-1A, R-2, NC, HC-1 and HC-2, and as permitted by right in GC and MX.