Fitchburg, WI Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Trigger for CU permit
- Custodial care count exceeds Wis. Stats. § 66.1017
- Below threshold
- Allowed as vocational activity, no permit
- Reviewing body
- Plan commission
- Listed as CU in
- R-L (§ 22-57(2)), R-LM (§ 22-91(2))
- Penalty
- $100/day forfeiture
- Appeal window
- 30 days, zoning board of appeals
Summary
Fitchburg treats small home day cares as a by-right vocational activity, but once the number of children in custodial care exceeds the state licensing threshold in Wis. Stats. § 66.1017, § 22-220 requires a conditional use permit reviewed by the plan commission.
A conditional use permit is required for any situation where the number of persons receiving custodial care exceeds the number set forth by Wis. Stats. § 66.1017. In such situations the plan commission shall examine applicable licensing standards and shall apply these to proposed operations. In the absence of such standards, the commission may impose conditions intended to accomplish safety of the facility and reasonable compatibility with the neighborhood.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 30).
Full Breakdown
Fitchburg City Code § 22-220, 'Family day care,' requires a conditional use permit for any home day care where the number of persons receiving custodial care exceeds the threshold set by Wis. 1017, the state law that limits how municipalities can regulate family day care homes. Below that state threshold, § 22-55(2)i treats day care as an allowable 'limited vocational activity' on a residential premises in the R-L Low Density District, alongside other household occupations, without requiring a separate permit. Once the state threshold is crossed and conditional use review is triggered, § 22-220 directs the plan commission to examine the applicable state licensing standards and apply them to the proposed operation; where no such standard exists, the commission can impose its own conditions to ensure the facility is safe and reasonably compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.
Family day care is also listed as a conditional use by name in the R-L district under § 22-57(2) and in the R-LM district under § 22-91(2), so a larger day care operation goes through the same public-hearing conditional-use process, complete with plan commission review, that governs schools, churches and group homes in Fitchburg's residential districts.
Violations & Fines
Operating a family day care that exceeds the state licensing threshold without the required conditional use permit is a Chapter 22 zoning violation. The zoning administrator can issue an enforcement demand to halt the unpermitted operation or bring it into compliance, and § 22-648(d)(2) sets the penalty at a forfeiture of $100.00 per day. Conditions placed on an approved conditional use permit are also enforceable: noncompliance can trigger a revocation hearing before the body that granted the approval. Denials or imposed conditions can be appealed to the zoning board of appeals within 30 days under § 22-643(b)(2).
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to run a home day care in Fitchburg?
Who reviews a family day care conditional use application?
Is family day care allowed in every residential district?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fitchburg
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Home Daycare in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Dane County handle home daycare.