Caldwell, ID Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Caldwell City Code Section 10-12-03-14 governs in-home, family, and group daycares operating out of a residence. Every daycare, regardless of size, must hold Idaho state licensure and submit a copy of that license to the Planning and Zoning Department within thirty days of receiving it. The section draws the line between a home-based use and a commercial facility at the number of children present at one time: an in-home daycare cannot care for more than twelve children, counting the provider's own children under age 13, and any operation serving thirteen or more children must relocate to a nonresidential facility.

Home operators must also provide paved on-site pickup, parking, and turnaround areas shown on a site plan so parents can safely load and unload children. , though the Planning Director can approve a Special Use Permit to modify that window. Any outdoor play area must be enclosed by a nonscalable fence at least six feet tall to keep small children in and screen the yard from neighbors, play equipment cannot sit in the front yard, and outdoor play in residential settings must stop by dusk.

Finally, the home-based use cannot emit lighting, noise, fumes, smoke, dust, odors, vibrations, or electrical interference that can be observed outside the dwelling, a nuisance standard aimed squarely at protecting adjoining residential properties from a business use next door.