Newton, MA Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

Sec. L. Chapter 15D, Section 1A: a Family Child Care Home (up to 6 children), a Large Family Child Care Home (up to 10 children), and a Day Care Center (more than 10 children). Day care centers that are not accessory to a religious or non-profit educational institution go through Administrative Site Plan Review under Sec. 5, must meet the dimensional requirements for lots created after December 7, 1953 in their zoning district, and must satisfy the standards in Sec. 3. Those standards require a dense, year-round vegetative buffer at least 4 feet wide and 6 feet high around any outdoor play area, with any fence the state Office for Child Care Services requires placed inside that buffer; on-site parking meeting Sec.

1, plus, in residence districts, the same vegetative buffer around the parking area; at least one drop-off and pick-up parking space for every 5 children or fraction thereof; and a designated, screened location for trash collection and removal. Sec. f then ties the use permit to state licensing: until the operator gives the Director of Planning and Development evidence of current, valid licensure by the Office for Child Care Services, the center cannot get a full Certificate of Occupancy, though it can get a temporary one if the Commissioner of Inspectional Services certifies it otherwise meets every other applicable requirement.