Duluth, MN Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

For any accessory day care facility approved after January 31, 2024, the Land Use Supervisor sets an off-street pick-up and drop-off parking requirement based on the facility's maximum licensed capacity, its site configuration, adjacent land uses and traffic intensity; pick-up and drop-off areas must be clearly signed and cannot conflict with on-site pedestrian or vehicle movement. A denial or condition set by the Land Use Supervisor can be appealed to the Planning Commission. In the RR-1 and RR-2 rural residential districts, the day care use itself, plus any related parking (other than the driveway), cannot occupy more than 20 percent of the lot.

In the MU-B and I-G mixed-use and general industrial districts, any outdoor exercise area must be fully fenced and set back at least 20 feet from public streets, drive lanes and loading areas, and the Land Use Supervisor may deny the application outright if the character or intensity of nearby uses would pose an unreasonable health, safety or welfare risk to the day care's users (also appealable to the Commission). In the I-G district specifically, an accessory day care must relate to the primary use on the lot and cannot exceed 15 percent of the building's gross floor area.

These accessory-use standards were adopted by Ord. No. 10875 on December 18, 2023, and apply citywide 'in the City of Duluth' wherever the Unified Development Chapter table permits a day care as an accessory use.