Peoria, AZ Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

Section 21-330(B) governs Day Care Group Homes with five or more children in the SFR, RM-1, RMH-1, AG, SR-43, and SR-35 districts. Operators must provide the Community Development Department evidence of certification by the Arizona Department of Health Services before opening, and the facility cannot display any identification visible from a public street, whether by sign, graphic, or other visual means, keeping the use looking residential from the curb. Every outdoor play area must be separated from adjacent properties by a six-foot-high solid, opaque fence or wall.

To prevent an over-concentration of group homes and day cares in one neighborhood, the section requires at least 600 feet of separation from any other existing or proposed similar facility, measured along the right-of-way line on either street frontage, unless the Planning Manager finds that a physical feature such as an arterial street, canal, or park already provides adequate separation. The Planning and Zoning Commission can waive the spacing requirement altogether if the applicant offers mitigating measures that protect the neighborhood's residential character. Because these are zoning-based siting standards administered by the Community Development Department rather than state licensing rules, they apply on top of, not instead of, the Arizona Department of Health Services' own day care licensing requirements; losing the state license does not automatically revoke the City's approval the way it does for the separately regulated Group Homes in subsection (A).