Medford, MA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Zoning status
- Allowed as of right as accessory use
- Approval required
- Community Development Board site plan approval
- Governing section
- Medford Revised Ordinances § 94-3.3.3
- Enforcing officer
- Building commissioner, Sec. 94-11.1.1
- Maximum fine
- $300 per day of violation, Sec. 94-11.3.2
Summary
Family day care homes are allowed as of right as an accessory residential use across Medford's Residence Districts, but Revised Ordinances § 94-3.3.3 conditions that right on site plan approval from the Community Development Board before an operator can open. Both small and large family day care fall under the same as-of-right accessory-use classification citywide.
94-3.3.3 Accessory Uses in All Districts. See the Table of Use Regulations for a complete list of allowed and prohibited accessory uses. The following accessory uses are specifically permitted as indicated by right or by special permit: ... 2.Family day care homes. Small and large family day care homes are allowed as of right as an accessory use as set forth in the Table of Use Regulations, subject to site plan approval by the community development board.
Full Breakdown
Medford's zoning code treats family day care as an accessory use of a dwelling, not a separate commercial use, so it is governed by the accessory-uses article of the Zoning Ordinance (Sec. 94-3.3.3) rather than by a home-occupation or business-license standard. The Table of Use Regulations lists small and large family day care homes as permitted by right in every Residence District, but that as-of-right status carries one condition: site plan approval from the Community Development Board before the use begins. Site plan review, spelled out in Sec.
94-11.7, lets the board attach reasonable conditions such as off-street drop-off and pick-up arrangements or exterior alterations, without requiring the discretionary special-permit process the board applies to less-favored accessory uses. An operator still needs a building permit from the building commissioner under Sec. 94-11.1.2 if the dwelling is altered to accommodate the use, and an occupancy permit confirming the accessory use complies with the chapter before children are cared for on site. The building commissioner administers and enforces the whole chapter under Sec. 94-11.1.1, investigating on written complaint or on his own initiative under Sec.
94-11.3.1. Because the ordinance folds day care into the general accessory-use scheme, it does not set its own capacity or hours cap; those numeric limits sit in state day care licensing law, which this Medford zoning provision does not duplicate or override.
Violations & Fines
Operating a family day care home without the required Community Development Board site plan approval, or without the building or occupancy permits the building commissioner demands, is a violation of Chapter 94 enforced under Sec. 94-11.3. The building commissioner issues a written notice and abatement deadline; a conviction carries a fine of up to $300.00 for each day the violation continues, or the city may instead pursue the noncriminal tier of $25 first offense, $50 second, $100 third and $200 fourth and subsequent under Sec. 94-11.3.3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Medford require a special permit for a home day care?
Which city board approves a Medford home day care?
What happens if a Medford resident runs a day care without approval?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Medford
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