Hudson, NH Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 334-24 of the Hudson Zoning Ordinance treats a home daycare as a home occupation, and any home occupation that provides a service on-site, which includes childcare, is permitted only after the Zoning Board of Adjustment grants a special exception. The Board must find the application meets every listed condition before approving it: the daycare has to stay secondary to the home's use as a residence, it can only be run by residents who actually live in the dwelling (renters need the owner's signed affidavit), it cannot use non-resident employees unless they also live on the premises, and it cannot occupy more than 50% of the finished living space.

Section 334-24D singles out daycare as the one home occupation allowed to run outdoor activity; every other home occupation must stay entirely inside the residence or an accessory structure such as a garage. The Zoning Ordinance's definitions section, § 334-6, splits licensed home daycare into two tiers: a Family Day-Care Home serves up to six children, not counting the caregiver's own children age 10 or older, plus up to three school-age children for part of the day, while a Family Group Day-Care Home serves seven to 12 children under the same counting rules.

Customer parking for the daycare is capped at two vehicles under § 334-24L(1), and no exterior signage beyond what Article XII allows, nor any exterior display, may signal the business from the street. The Community Development Director/Zoning Administrator can revoke the special exception outright if any of these conditions lapse, and approval itself expires automatically when the property changes hands or the renter's lease ends.