Durham, NC Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

Sec. E, Day Care Facility, is the UDO's operative standard for Child Care Centers, which the ordinance folds into the 'Day care facility' use listed in Sec. 1, Use Table. Before a center can open in Durham, the facility must meet every applicable State requirement for standards, licensing, and inspections -- the UDO does not set its own separate licensing scheme, it cross-references the state framework and makes compliance a condition of the zoning use itself. 1401, both as amended, so a center has to track updates to those state rules rather than a fixed city number.

In residential zoning districts, any parking located between the structure and the street must be set back from the right-of-way beyond the minimum or maximum street yard, whichever applies to that lot -- a placement rule aimed at keeping drop-off traffic and pavement away from the street frontage in neighborhoods. Because the standard sits inside Sec. 3, Limited Use Standards, it applies on top of, not instead of, the base dimensional and parking rules of whatever zoning district the center is in, and it governs both a new child care center and an existing one that expands or relocates within Durham.