Tamarac, FL Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

Tamarac's Land Development Code, section 10-3.3(C)(4), layers city site standards on top of licensing. First, the facility must comply with all Broward County Child Care Ordinance requirements under Chapter 7 of the Broward County Code, including licensing, since Broward, not the city, administers child care licensing. On the physical site, no setback or required yard area may be counted toward the county's usable outdoor-space-per-child calculation, so a facility cannot use its mandatory building setback to satisfy the county's play-area minimum. Outdoor play areas must be safely segregated from accessways, parking, loading and service areas, and cannot be used for outdoor play after 8:00 p.m., protecting neighbors from evening noise.

Vehicular access must be designed to enhance child safety at arrival and departure, and every facility needs a designated passenger pick-up and delivery area sized at a minimum of one loading or unloading space, the size of a standard parking space, for every 20 children enrolled; that space must sit next to the facility so children are not required to cross a vehicular accessway to enter or exit. Where a dedicated pick-up area cannot be placed directly next to the entrance, the drive aisle children must cross has to be clearly marked.

On the use-table side, a child care facility needs a Special Exception approval, not a by-right permit, in every zoning district that allows it, meaning city commission review and a public hearing before a new center can open in Tamarac.