Chandler, AZ Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Under Zoning Code Sec. 35-305(3), Chandler treats larger home-based child care differently from small in-home arrangements. 'In-home day care,' defined in Sec. 35-200, covers accessory child care in a single-family home for not more than four children through age twelve and needs no use permit at all. Once a household serves five or more children, it becomes 'residential child care', a single-family dwelling used as an accessory business for childcare or academic training, for compensation, for at least five but not more than ten children through age twelve, and a use permit is required in every residential zoning designation, including Planned Area Development (PAD).

The application must include a site plan showing setbacks, house square footage devoted to the activity, garage/driveway dimensions, patio and pool areas, and fenced outdoor play space, plus a map of any other residential child care sites within a quarter mile and proof of State of Arizona Department of Health Services licensure. The City Council decides the application. Approved operations may serve no more than ten children for compensation and no more than fifteen total regardless of compensation; must sit at least 1,200 feet from another residential child care lot line; may carry no street-facing identification except signage allowed under Sign Code Sec.

39-9; must screen every outdoor play area with a six-foot solid masonry wall and gates; and may not expand or enclose an existing garage, carport, or driveway to accommodate the use. Providers must keep State licensure on file with the Current Planning Division. A granted permit runs one year from City Council approval, is void if the use hasn't started within nine months, and is non-transferable; renewal applications go to the Zoning Administrator at least sixty days before expiration.