Rutherford County, TN Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

4 of the Rutherford County Zoning Ordinance lists four use-specific standards for child care centers as a commercial activity. First, the site must include an on-site, off-street area for vehicles to load and unload passengers, so drop-off and pick-up traffic does not spill onto the public street. Second, vehicular parking and access must be arranged so vehicles can exit the site without backing onto any street or sidewalk, and the parking layout must meet the general off-street parking standards in Section 1102. Third, day care centers must demonstrate that adequate wastewater capacity exists to serve the proposed use, which the Planning and Engineering Department checks during site plan review since much of the unincorporated county runs on septic rather than sewer.

Fourth, the section makes clear that county zoning approval does not substitute for state regulation: all requirements enforced by other agencies, including the Tennessee Department of Human Services (which licenses child care agencies) and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal's Office (which inspects for fire and life-safety code compliance), must still be met. Because these standards sit in Chapter 11's use-specific standards for commercial activities, a child care center also has to satisfy the underlying zoning district's use table and any site plan or special exception process that applies to it before Planning and Engineering will sign off.