Cowlitz County, WA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

010(1)(c), as one of only two categories of home occupation that unincorporated Cowlitz County allows by right in every land use district, from RR-1 through AG-I and the unzoned area, with no special use permit required. That is a real exemption from how the county treats most home businesses. 552(B) normally confines a home occupation entirely inside the dwelling or an attached or detached accessory building on the same lot, but licensed family day care providers are specifically carved out of that requirement, so a provider can use additional space, such as a fenced yard, that another home business could not.

552(B)(5), is waived the same way for licensed day care operators. The other standards in subsection B still apply to a home day care as they would to any home occupation: it must stay clearly incidental and secondary to the dwelling's residential use, the outward appearance of the home cannot be altered so it no longer looks residential, only the occupants of the dwelling may run it plus up to two nonresident employees, storage or display of goods must stay out of public view, and adequate off-street parking has to be provided for drop-off and pick-up traffic.