Gordon County, GA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

The Gordon County, Georgia Unified Land Development Code splits home-scale child care into two tiers in Section 4.03.12(B). Family Day Care Homes, nursery schools and private preschools or Pre-K schools with less than seven (7) children are permissible in the A-1, RA-1, R-1, R-2, R-3, O-1, C-C, C-G and C-H zoning districts. Group Day Care Homes and similar schools with at least seven (7) and not more than eighteen (18) children are permissible in A-1, RA-1, R-1, R-2, O-I, C-C, C-G and C-H, which drops R-3. Anything at nineteen (19) or more children moves into the child day care center tier, which is confined to O-I, C-C, C-G and C-H.

Table 4.03.12(F) sets the same site standards for both home tiers. The place of operation is a freestanding structure or a single-family dwelling. Outdoor play area is at least 100 square feet per child, fully enclosed by a fence at least five (5) feet high built to Section 5.02.03. Indoor play area is at least 35 square feet per child, and the drop-off location must be off-street. Section 4.03.12(C) also requires State licensing for every facility the section regulates.

The home occupation rules come in when the day care is run out of the house. Section 4.03.12(D) states that a child day care facility operated as a home occupation shall comply with Section 5.01.00, and Section 5.01.01(B)(6) lists "Day care for six (6) or fewer children" among the uses considered home occupations. Section 5.01.02 then applies: a business license from Gordon County, employees limited to the residents of the dwelling, use of no more than thirty (30) percent of one (1) floor, no outside storage of materials, and no on-site customer visits between 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. The listing in Section 5.01.01(B)(6) stops at six children.