Richland, WA Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

RMC Section 23.42.080 sets a higher bar for a day care center than for a home-based family day care, treating the center as a special use that needs a documented permit record before it opens. The outdoor play area rule is explicit and numeric: while a family day care home only has to follow the Washington Administrative Code, a day care center must be fenced to a height of not less than four feet, under subsection (D)(2). Applying for the special use permit a day care center needs triggers a notice and disclosure package: the applicant must submit, at the time of application, a title insurance company report showing ownership of record of the property, an accurate legal description of the property, and a list of the names and addresses of every owner of record within a 300-foot radius.

That radius report must also include an accurate key map delineating the property and the surrounding 300-foot area, with each affected parcel numbered to match the ownership list, so neighboring owners can be identified and notified. Before any of this closes out, the responsible city official or officials must make all necessary inspections and contacts confirming compliance with the DSHS assurance, the fire department registration, the play-area fencing and the 300-foot ownership report, all of which subsection (F) folds into one final gate: no business license will be issued until that official has approved the application.

That makes the fencing height, the title report and the inspection sign-off components of a single permitting sequence rather than independent boxes to check in any order.