La Plata County, CO Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Land use permit
- None required for a day care home, § 66-3.I.L
- Other sections control
- Exemption applies unless other code sections specifically require a permit
- Building permit
- Required as applicable, § 66-3.III.A
- Site standards
- Setbacks, parking and all use provisions still apply
- Animas Valley districts
- Three, two and one-acre districts list day care homes as special uses
- Larger operation
- Five (5) to fifteen (15) individuals needs a minor land use permit
Summary
In unincorporated La Plata County, Colorado, section 66-3 of the Land Use Code lists a day care home among developments that need no land use permit. The exemption still carries building permit and site standard duties, and the Animas Valley plan districts separately list day care homes as special uses by land use permit.
I. No land use permit required. ... No land use permit shall be required for any of the following developments unless specifically required by other sections of this code: A. One single family residence on a vacant legal lot of record; ... ... K. Accessory uses pursuant to subsection 73-2.II.; L. Day care home; ... III. ... Minimum requirements. Development not requiring a county land use permit as specified in this code, shall meet all applicable established minimum requirements, including, but not limited to the following: A. Building permits required as applicable; ... ... B. Compliance with all applicable site development standards, such as setbacks and parking, and all use provisions specified in this code;
Full Breakdown
Section 66-3.I of the La Plata County Land Use Code opens with a list of developments for which no land use permit shall be required unless specifically required by other sections of the code. Item L on that list is a day care home. It sits beside one single family residence on a vacant legal lot of record, agriculture as defined in Chapter 62, barns, garages and sheds intended solely for noncommercial use, decks and fences, and accessory uses under section 73-2.II. Larger operations are a different entry: a day care facility serving five (5) to fifteen (15) individuals needs a minor land use permit under section 66-6, and one serving sixteen (16) or more needs a major land use permit under section 66-7.
The exemption from a land use permit is not an exemption from the code. Section 66-3.III sets minimum requirements for development not requiring a county land use permit: building permits as applicable, and compliance with all applicable site development standards, such as setbacks and parking, and all use provisions specified in the code. Section 66-3.IV sends building permit applications to the CDD for review of the land use and division of land requirements of Chapters 66 and 67, development on a legal lot of record, setbacks within section 70-6, and height requirements. Section 66-1.VI adds that a land use permit is separate and distinct from a building permit.
Location in the Animas Valley changes the analysis. Section 65-3 lists day care homes as special uses permitted by land use permit in the three-acre minimum single-family residential district, the two-acre district, the one-acre restricted district and the one-acre district. Because section 66-3.I defers to other sections of the code, a home in one of those districts has to be read against its district listing. Written code interpretations are director determinations under section 66-4.I.H, processed under section 66-17, and they are the county's route for settling which section controls a particular lot.
Violations & Fines
A day care home skips the land use permit, not the code. Section 66-3.III.C lets the director require compliance with section 81-2, Sections Necessary for Immediate Preservation of Public Health and Safety, when circumstances warrant. Section 66-1.IV directs the decision-making body to deny and withhold permits on any new project where the applicant has failed or refused to comply with the code, and section 66-1.VII points to the corrective measures described in chapter 80 for false application information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a land use permit for a day care home in unincorporated La Plata County?
Does a home daycare still need a building permit?
What separates a day care home from a day care facility?
Who resolves an unclear case for a home childcare use?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in La Plata County
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