McLean County, IL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Dwelling type
- Single-family or two-family only
- Residency
- Provider must live there full time
- Treated as
- Home occupation under § 350-43.R
- Floor-area cap
- 25% of home, 50% of basement
- Employees
- Max one non-resident worker
- Applies to
- Unincorporated McLean County only
Summary
A family day-care home in unincorporated McLean County must operate out of a single-family or two-family dwelling that the provider actually lives in full time. The zoning code treats it as a home occupation, so it also has to clear every general home-occupation limit in § 350-43.R.
Day-care home. Each day-care home shall be conducted in a single-family or two-family dwelling unit that is occupied as a permanent residence by the day-care provider. The use will be considered a home occupation and shall be subject to the home occupation provisions of this article.
Full Breakdown
M(2) singles out day-care homes for a residency test the day-care center rule does not carry: the home must be a single-family or two-family dwelling unit, and the provider must live there as a permanent residence, not merely rent office space. R(1): the activity cannot use more than 25% of the dwelling's floor area (50% of the basement), no more than one non-resident employee may work on site, no exterior display of equipment or merchandise, no outdoor storage of supplies, no nuisance-level noise, odor or glare, and no sign larger than two feet in any direction.
R(1)(i) also bars deliveries by trucks over two tons and prohibits generating traffic abnormal to a residential neighborhood, a standard the county's Zoning Enforcement Office under § 350-16 applies case by case when a neighbor complains. Because § 350-4 confines this chapter to the unincorporated county, a family day-care home inside Bloomington or Normal answers to that city's zoning code, and any state DCFS licensing requirement for the home itself runs on a separate track from these county zoning standards.
Violations & Fines
A day-care home that outgrows the 25%/50% floor-area cap, adds a second outside employee, hangs an oversized sign, or generates neighborhood-abnormal traffic violates § 350-43.R. Under the chapter's general penalty at § 350-22, that is a petty offense punishable by a fine up to $500, with every week the condition continues counted as its own separate offense, on top of any Circuit Court action to force compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I run a licensed family day-care home out of any house in unincorporated McLean County?
Do the general home-occupation rules apply to a day-care home?
How much space can a home day-care use inside the house?
What if neighbors complain about traffic from a home day-care?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in McLean County
Compare McLean County to another location·View the Illinois home business overview
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