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

Section 2.02 of the Zoning Ordinance defines a CHILD CARE CENTER as any facility, other than a private residence, that receives one or more preschool or school age children for care lasting less than 24 hours a day while unattended by a parent or guardian; the definition carves out short religious instruction programs of up to three hours a day (or eight hours a day for up to four weeks a year) and brief religious child-minding during services, so those do not trigger the standards below.

For every other center, Section 6.09.B imposes four site requirements. The parcel must have frontage on a major or minor arterial street, keeping drop-off traffic off local residential streets. The site needs a dedicated drop-off and pickup area next to the main building entrance, positioned off the public street and the internal parking access lane, and sized so it will not create congestion. The center must provide at least 1,000 square feet of outdoor play area on the premises, and that play area cannot sit inside the required front setback; the City will waive this if a public play area is available within 500 feet of the parcel. The operator must keep its state child-care license current for as long as the center operates.

These are zoning conditions, checked against the site plan, separate from the building and fire codes the Building Official administers. A center that expands, adds outdoor play space, or changes its drop-off layout without an amended site plan is out of compliance even if the building itself passes inspection.