Lower Merion, PA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Family day-care in Lower Merion Township is governed by § 155-10.1.B, one of the accessory-use rules in the Zoning Code, and it is permitted only in the LDR and MDR Zoning Districts. The facility must be located in a single-family, detached dwelling in which the caregiver actually resides; it cannot operate out of a twin, rowhouse, or multifamily unit. No one may work on the premises in connection with the day-care except the resident caregiver and, if legally required, one employee, and the operation is capped at six nonresident children, not counting the caregiver's own kids.

The lot itself must have at least 10,000 square feet of area, and the home needs a minimum of 40 square feet of usable indoor floor area per child, counting furnishings and equipment already in the room. Outdoor space carries its own standard: 100 square feet of play area per child on the same lot, positioned on the rear half of the lot, enclosed by a fence or wall, and set back at least 30 feet from any adjacent residential building. A driveway is mandatory so parents can drop off and pick up children off the street instead of stopping in the roadway.

Section 155-10.1.B(7) layers on a 500-foot buffer: a new family day-care cannot open within 500 feet of another such facility, measured by the shortest line between the two lots. Exceeding six children or dropping the resident-caregiver requirement turns the use into a zoning violation rather than a permitted accessory use.