Taylor, MI Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

Taylor's zoning table of uses, Appendix A table 3.02, lists 'Child care centers and day care centers' as a special land use (SLU) in every single-family residential district and cross-references the site standards in section 13.09(c), Health and human care uses. Those standards require a minimum lot area of 700 square feet for each enrolled child, and the site must have access to a major street as defined in section 28.11(q). The ordinance separately requires at least 150 square feet of usable outdoor play area per enrolled child, with the total outdoor play area for the facility never smaller than 5,000 square feet.

That play area must be fenced and screened from any adjacent residential district or use by a heavily planted green belt, a distinct requirement from the ordinary yard landscaping the district otherwise requires. A designated child loading and unloading area is mandatory, and on-site vehicular circulation is limited to one-way traffic flow wherever possible, a rule aimed at keeping drop-off lines from backing onto residential streets. Because the use is a special land use rather than a permitted use, an applicant must go through the special land use review of article 21 and meet the article 13 use requirements before Building and Safety will issue a permit; by contrast, the same table lists a family child care home for up to eight children as permitted by right in the same districts, so the SLU process only applies once a facility grows into a center.

The development services department reviews the site plan and the planning commission holds the special land use hearing before forwarding a recommendation to city council.