Dunwoody, GA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 27-137(d) of the zoning ordinance sets the operating standards for a 'child day care facility,' defined at § 27-113(4)d as care for six or fewer children under 18 in a home setting. The section requires at least 30 square feet of indoor play area and at least 100 square feet of outdoor play area for each child, based on the facility's maximum allowed enrollment, and the outdoor play area must be enclosed by a fence or wall at least four feet high. No more than 50 percent of the residence's floor area may be devoted to the day care use, and the home's exterior residential appearance must be preserved: no signs beyond what the zoning district otherwise allows, and no cut-outs, animal characters or other graphics affixed to the exterior or displayed on the premises.

Operators must file a permit application with the community development department, supported by an affidavit certifying the maximum number of children to be served and confirming the facility will comply with state and city rules; if the state department of human resources requires a certificate of registration, the city permit cannot issue until that state certificate is on file. Facilities that need a special land use permit go through additional review under § 27-359, where the decision-making body weighs off-street parking adequacy, screening of parking and play areas from neighbors, safe drop-off and pick-up arrangements, and whether the structure's exterior remains compatible with the surrounding residential character.

A larger operation serving seven or more children is instead classified as a 'child day care center' under § 27-113(4)c, subject to its own fence requirement but not the 50-percent floor-area or square-footage standards.