Goodyear, AZ Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Classified as
- home business (§ 3.4.4)
- Play-area fence height
- 5-foot solid masonry min
- Separation between day cares
- 500 feet, same street
- Garage/driveway conversion
- Not permitted
- State licensing required
- A.R.S. Title 36, Ch. 7.1
Summary
Goodyear treats in-home day care as a home business, requiring it stay incidental to residential use, a 5-foot masonry fence around outdoor play areas, 500-foot spacing from other home day cares on the same street, and a ban on converting garages or driveways for the business.
3.11.18. Day Care, Home In-home day care facilities shall be considered a home business and shall be managed in accordance with Section 3.4.4 Home Business and the following: A. The family day care use shall be incidental to the principal use of the dwelling unit for residential purposes. B. All outdoor play areas shall be screened and enclosed by a minimum five-foot-high solid masonry fence with solid, self-closing and self-latching gates. C. The minimum separation between Home Day Care uses on the same street shall be five hundred (500) feet, measured from the lot lines. D. Existing garages, carport structures, or driveways shall not be expanded, modified, displaced or otherwise altered for the purposes of accommodating the home day care use.
Full Breakdown
18. The use must stay incidental to the dwelling's residential purpose under (A), meaning it cannot become the primary use of the home, and any outdoor play area must be fully enclosed by a masonry fence at least five feet high with gates that are solid, self-closing and self-latching under (B). 18(C) sets a 500-foot minimum separation between home day care uses on the same street, measured lot line to lot line, so a resident wanting to open a second in-home day care nearby has to check what already exists within that radius before applying.
The section also protects the residential character of the property: under (D), garages, carports and driveways cannot be expanded, modified or displaced to accommodate the business, so a home day care cannot be used to justify converting a garage into classroom space or paving over a yard for extra drop-off parking. S. 1, so a Goodyear home day care needs both local zoning compliance and a state day care license before it can lawfully operate. 4's general home-business conditions on top of these day-care-specific requirements.
Violations & Fines
A home day care that becomes the primary use of the dwelling, leaves its outdoor play area unfenced or under the five-foot masonry standard, sits within 500 feet of another home day care on the same street, or has converted a garage or driveway to accommodate the business, is out of compliance with Section 3.11.18 and subject to the city's zoning code enforcement process, in addition to any state licensing consequences.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a day care out of my Goodyear home?
How must the outdoor play area be fenced?
How close can two home day cares be to each other?
Do I still need a state license to run a home day care in Goodyear?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Goodyear
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How other cities in Maricopa County handle home daycare.