Rochester, NY Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

The Zoning Code lists day-care centers as a special permit use in the R-1 Low-Density Residential District and other residential districts (§ 120-9C), meaning the Planning Commission must approve the use before the doors open; the same additional requirements apply everywhere the use is allowed, including the C-3 and M-1 Districts. Two site standards from § 120-135 govern every application: no permanently installed play equipment in the required front yard, and a minimum 1,000-foot separation from any existing sexually oriented business. ' A special permit alone does not let an operator open; the state or county agency that licenses child-care programs must also sign off.

Smaller in-home operations are treated differently: family and group family day-care homes are listed as permitted, by-right uses in the R-1 District under § 120-8C and D, not special-permit uses, and § 120-139A specifically exempts family day-care homes from the 25% floor-area cap that otherwise limits home occupations. A family day-care home is licensed under New York Social Services Law § 390 for three to six children (up to eight under state inspection conditions); a group family day-care home can serve seven to 10 children, or 12 if all are over age two. Enforcement of the zoning requirements falls to the Director of Zoning and Permitting under § 120-205.