Caldwell, ID Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Caldwell City Code 10-12-03-14 sets the local zoning standards for daycare facilities and ties licensing to the state. Subsection 1 requires that 'all in-home daycares, daycare centers, and/or preschools shall abide by all state of Idaho code and/or licensure requirements and shall also receive state licensure regardless of the type of daycare and regardless of the number of children cared for,' and a copy of the state license must be submitted to the Planning and Zoning Department within 30 days of receipt. Subsection 2 limits an in-home daycare to no more than twelve (12) children (including the provider's own children under age 13); a daycare serving 13 or more children must be in a nonresidential facility. The city also requires paved on-site pick-up, parking and turnaround areas (subsection 3); limits hours of operation in residential districts to between 6:00 A.M. and 11:00 P.M. unless modified by a Special Use Permit (subsection 4); and requires all outdoor play areas to be 'completely enclosed by minimum six-foot nonscalable fences to secure against exit/entry by small children' (subsection 5). Outdoor play equipment may not be in a front yard (subsection 6), and in-home daycares may not emit observable lighting, noise, odors, or other nuisances outside the dwelling (subsection 8). State child-care licensing is handled by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare; the city's role is zoning and confirming the state license. A home daycare also operates as a home occupation under City Code 10-12-03-22 and qualifies for that code's daycare exception to the delivery-hours limit.