Vacaville, CA Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Buffer distance
- 750 feet, day care centers vs. adult businesses
- Governing section
- VMC §14.09.270.050.D
- Freeway exception
- Barrier with no pedestrian path breaks 750-ft rule
- Day Care Center defined at
- VMC §14.02.060.020.G (nonresidential)
- Zoning approval
- Minor/Conditional Use Permit in several districts
Summary
Vacaville's Land Use and Development Code keeps day care centers and adult-oriented businesses at least 750 feet apart in both directions. Municipal Code Section 14.09.270.050.D bars a new adult-oriented business from locating within 750 feet of an existing or approved day care center, school, park, or other use frequented by minors, and blocks the reverse siting too.
D. Minimum Distance Requirements. 1. Adult-oriented business shall be located a minimum of 750 feet from any residential district or zone under the jurisdiction of the City or the county, school, park and recreation facility, community assembly use, day care center, commercial entertainment and recreation use, use frequented by minors, or other adult-oriented business. ... 3. No school, park and recreation facility, community assembly use, day care center, commercial entertainment and recreation use, or any use frequented by minors shall be established or located within 750 feet of an existing or approved adult-oriented business.
Full Breakdown
050, Adult-Oriented Businesses, sets the City's only distance-based siting standard that names day care centers directly. 3 mirrors that protection from the other direction: a school, park, community assembly use, day care center, or other use frequented by minors cannot be established within 750 feet of an existing or approved adult-oriented business, and while either application is pending, the City will not accept a competing application for the conflicting use within that 750-foot radius until the first application is finally decided. G, meaning nonmedical, licensed care for children or adults on a less-than-24-hour basis outside a residential home, such as a nursery school, preschool, or day care facility. 2. 030, Common Procedures, in addition to the state childcare license, before a center can operate.
Violations & Fines
An adult-oriented business sited within 750 feet of an existing or approved day care center, or a day care center proposed within 750 feet of an existing or approved adult-oriented business, fails Section 14.09.270.050.D, and the City will not accept the land use application while a competing application for the conflicting use is pending in that radius. Adult-oriented business permits are separately governed by Chapter 9.05, Adult-Oriented Business Permit, referenced in Subsection C.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far must a day care center be from an adult business in Vacaville?
Does the 750-foot buffer apply to home-based family day care?
What zoning approval does a day care center need to open in Vacaville?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Vacaville
California rules heatmap·Compare Vacaville to another location·View the California building safety overview
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Childcare Center Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Solano County handle childcare center rules.