Scottsdale, AZ Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer distance
- 100 feet from a residential district
- Beyond the buffer
- Permitted use in listed districts
- Within the buffer
- Requires conditional use permit
- Governing table
- Table 11.201.A, § 11.201
- Excluded entirely
- AC-3 airport influence area
Summary
Scottsdale's zoning code ties a day care center's location to its distance from housing: under Table 11.201.A of § 11.201, a day care center with a drop-off or outdoor play area more than 100 feet from a residential district is permitted by right in most commercial and industrial zones, but the same use within 100 feet of a residential district needs a conditional use permit reviewed case by case.
Day care center with drop off or outdoor play area farther than 100 feet from a residential district shown on Table 4.100.A., or the residential portion of a Planned Community P-C, or any portion of a Planned Residential Development PRD with an underlying zoning district comparable to the residential districts shown on Table 4.100.A. [P]... Day care center with drop off or outdoor play area within 100 feet of a residential district shown on Table 4.100.A., or the residential portion of a Planned Community P-C, or any portion of a Planned Residential Development PRD with an underlying zoning district comparable to the residential districts shown on Table 4.100.A. [CU]
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
A, the Commercial, Industrial and Parking Land Uses Table adopted through a series of ordinances running from Ordinance No. 4404 in 2019 through Ordinance No. 4652 in 2024. A, or the residential portion of a Planned Community P-C, or any comparable Planned Residential Development, as a permitted use across the S-R, C-S, C-1, C-2, C-3, C-4, C-O, PNC, PCC, PCoC, I-1 and I-G districts. The identically worded entry for a center within 100 feet of a residential district is downgraded to a conditional use in those same districts, meaning the Development Review Board or City Council must approve it individually rather than allow it by right.
Both rows carry use-limitation note (1), which excludes the AC-3 area described in the city's airport development procedures and Chapter 5 of the Scottsdale Revised Code. A applies specifically to the largest, day-care-center scale of operation, not to smaller in-home care arrangements.
Violations & Fines
Operating a day care center within 100 feet of a residential district without first obtaining a conditional use permit is a zoning violation enforceable by the city through code enforcement and Development Review Board review under the general Chapter 1 penalty structure. Facilities within the AC-3 airport influence area are barred outright from qualifying under either use-limitation category, regardless of distance from housing, because use-limitation note (1) excludes that area entirely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open a day care center anywhere in a Scottsdale commercial zone?
What is a conditional use permit, and why would my day care need one?
Does the 100-foot rule apply to a small home day care?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Scottsdale
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Childcare Center Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle childcare center rules.