Lakeville, MN Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Lakeville City Code section 11-50-5.D lists 'daycare facilities serving fourteen (14) or fewer persons in a single-family detached dwelling' among the permitted accessory uses in the RS-1 single-family district, and the identical fourteen-person threshold repeats in the RA, RAO, RS-2, RS-3, RS-4 and A-P district chapters, so a small home daycare needs no conditional use permit anywhere those districts apply. Anything larger, or any daycare not sited in a single-family home, falls instead under chapter 31, DAYCARE FACILITIES, which the RA and A-P conditional-use lists cross-reference directly: 'daycare facilities as a principal or accessory use, except as provided for by this chapter, provided that the use complies with chapter 31.' Chapter 31 requires a conditional use permit application with a scaled site plan under section 11-31-3, ties minimum lot area to Minnesota Department of Human Services licensing standards, requires screening under sections 11-21-5 and 11-21-9 where the site abuts commercial or industrial property, and requires off-street parking calculated separately under chapter 19 with play areas screened from adjoining residential districts.

Outdoor play space cannot sit inside the required front yard setback, and the City Building Official must review construction plans for State Building Code compliance before occupancy. Under section 11-31-9, the City reserves the right to inspect any daycare operating under a conditional use permit to confirm compliance with the permit's conditions. Title 11's definitions describe a 'daycare facility' as any facility licensed by the State Department of Human Services that regularly provides care, training, supervision or developmental guidance for periods under twenty-four hours, so State DHS licensing applies whether the operation is home-based or a larger permitted use.