Modesto, CA Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

Modesto Municipal Code Section 10-3.204(b) draws a sharp line between home-based day care and a commercial child day care center: "A child day care center provides child day care in a commercial building and not in a home is a conditional use in the residential and professional office zone and permitted use in the commercial and industrial zones. Examples of a child day care center include infant centers, preschools, extended day care facilities, and school aged child care centers." Table 3.1-1 spells out the same split zone by zone: "Child Day Care Center" is marked conditional ("C") in R-1, R-2, R-3 and P-O, and permitted ("P") in MU-P, MU-H, C-1, C-2, C-3, C-M, M-1 and M-2.

A conditional use permit application for a center sited in a residential or office zone goes to the Board of Zoning Adjustment for review before the center can open, the same discretionary process used for other conditional uses citywide. Once built, the center's off-street parking is fixed by Table 5.1-1 under Section 10-5.102: "Child Day Care, Commercial 1 space per 5 children," a ratio tied directly to licensed capacity rather than building square footage, unlike most other commercial uses in the same table.