Lee County, NC Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 5.10 of the Lee County Unified Development Ordinance regulates any child care arrangement, drawing its size categories straight from the North Carolina General Statutes. Under 5.10.1.4, a 'home child care' is a child care arrangement located in a residence where, at any one time, more than two but fewer than nine children receive care, tracking the state's definition in G.S. § 110-86. A 'child care center' under 5.10.1.3 is a larger arrangement of three or more preschool-age children, or nine or more school-age children, at one time.

Section 5.10.1.1 excludes several everyday arrangements from regulation altogether, including care for two or fewer unrelated children in a home, drop-in care while a parent is on-site, recreational programs under four months a year, and specialized lessons like dance, music or scouting. Section 5.10.2.1 states that a day care is permitted wherever the use matrix, Table 4.6-1, allows it, and a day care operated as an accessory use must also meet the accessory-use conditions in 5.10.2.1(a) through (c), which cover church, school and non-residential accessory day cares specifically.

Whichever category applies, section 5.10.3.1 requires the operator to show compliance with the state licensing standards under Chapter 110, Article 7 of the General Statutes to the Community Development department before the use is recognized. Home-based operators should confirm their zoning district's use matrix entry before opening, since the permitted category and any accessory-use conditions differ by district.