Pitt County, NC Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

25(Z) of the Pitt County Zoning Ordinance, "Day Care Center, Child or Adult" and "Day Care Facility, Residential" are separate use categories in Table 5-1 of the county's unincorporated-area zoning code. A day care center needs an approved Special Use Permit from the Pitt County Board of Adjustment before it can operate in the RA (Residential-Agricultural), RR (Rural Residential), R40, SR (Suburban Residential) or MFR (Multi-Family Residential) districts; in the OI (Office-Institutional) and GC (General Commercial) districts the same use is allowed once it meets the listed development standards, without a Board of Adjustment hearing.

Day Care Facility, Residential, the smaller in-home category, is limited to the RA, RR, R40, SR and MFR districts only, per the same table. 25(Z) attaches four operating standards regardless of district. Any outdoor activity area for children must be enclosed by a security fence at least 6 feet high, and that fenced area has to sit outside the required road setback rather than inside it. A center sited on a lot larger than 3 acres must take its principal access from a road classified as a collector or thoroughfare, not a local residential street.

In residential zoning districts the operation cannot run on a 24-hour basis, and outdoor activities at the center are confined to daylight hours only. Because Pitt County's zoning jurisdiction covers only the unincorporated county (and any area under an interlocal extraterritorial agreement), these standards do not apply inside Greenville, Winterville, Ayden, Farmville or the county's other incorporated towns, each of which enforces its own separate zoning code for day care siting.