Arvada, CO Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 3-1-5-2 covers the child care uses the code treats as home child care: specialized group homes, family child care homes, three-under-two homes, homes with infant/toddler licenses, experienced-provider homes and large child care homes, all defined by cross-reference to the Colorado child care licensing rules at 12 CCR 2509-8. Subsection B exempts several categories from needing any zoning permit at all as long as any required state license is obtained and kept current: specialized group homes serving three or fewer children with a developmental disability or serious emotional disturbance, exempt family child care home providers, foster care homes, and licensed host family homes, each defined by cross-reference to Colorado Revised Statutes Section 26-6-102 or the state licensing rule.

Subsection C then sets four standards that apply to every home child care use covered by the section: the operator must reside on the property, the use cannot generate noise beyond what is customary in a residential neighborhood as measured at or beyond the property line, no additional off-street parking may be created for the use, and no commercial vehicles may be parked or stored on the property. Subsection D leaves the maximum number of children entirely to the applicable state license or statutory definition, so Arvada's zoning code sets no separate numeric cap of its own.

A provider who wants to add parking, pave over yard space, or park a marked commercial van to serve a larger licensed capacity has to look to the state licensing rules for capacity limits, because the zoning standards in Subsection C apply regardless of how many children the state license allows.