Clarkstown, NY Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Enrollment cap
- 6 children maximum
- Play area size
- 200 sq. ft. per child
- Play area setbacks
- 50 ft. from street, 25 ft. from lot line
- Accessory floor area cap
- 25% of home, max 500 sq. ft.
- State license required
- NYS Dept. of Social Services
Summary
In Clarkstown's New City Hamlet Districts, a family day-care home may enroll up to six children as an accessory use to a single-family house. The fenced play area must sit 50 feet from the street and 25 feet from any lot line, and the use is capped at 25% of floor area.
FAMILY DAY CARE: Day care in a family home shall mean day care of more than two and not more than six children in a single-family detached residence. ... Family day care (accessory use). [1] The family day-care home shall be allowed only as an accessory to a single-family detached residence. No family day-care home shall be located on a lot that includes a two-family conversion. [2] All licensing requirements of the Department of Social Services shall be met. ... [3] A suitable, safe, designated play area shall be provided, located not less than 50 feet from any street line or 25 feet from any lot line. The play area shall include at least 200 square feet per child. ... [5] No more than six children shall be enrolled in the family day-care home. [6] The maximum floor area of the accessory use shall be no more than 25% of the total floor area of the dwelling unit and in no event more than 500 square feet of the floor area.
Full Breakdown
5G(4)(f). There, a family day-care home is allowed only as an accessory to a single-family detached residence, and cannot be located on a lot that includes a two-family conversion. All Department of Social Services licensing requirements must be met, and the certificate of occupancy automatically terminates if that state license is revoked or the property is sold. The home must provide a safe, designated play area of at least 200 square feet per enrolled child, set back at least 50 feet from any street line and 25 feet from any lot line, fenced (unless a larger surrounding area is fenced), and never located in a required front yard.
Off-street parking must include one space per staff member plus one space per three enrolled children. The accessory floor area itself is capped at 25% of the dwelling's total floor area and, in any event, no more than 500 square feet. Enrollment above six children, or operating outside a single-family detached home, pushes the use into the separate "child day-care center" category under § 290-17Z, which carries its own site plan and traffic-study requirements.
Violations & Fines
Operating a family day-care home without the required Department of Social Services license, exceeding the six-child enrollment cap, or exceeding the 25%/500-square-foot accessory floor area limit voids the certificate of occupancy for the use and is enforceable under the Chapter 290 penalty provisions in § 290-34, in addition to any state licensing consequences from the Department of Social Services.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many children can a home day care serve in Clarkstown?
Does a Clarkstown home day care need a fenced play area?
Can I run a family day care out of any house in Clarkstown?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clarkstown
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