Minnetonka, MN Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

The Minnetonka City Council wrote the R-1 Low Density Residential District rules into § 300.10 of the zoning chapter. Subdivision 2(d) lists a licensed day care facility serving 12 or fewer persons and a group family day care facility licensed under Minnesota Rules, parts 9502.0315 to 9502.0445 to serve 14 or fewer children as permitted uses, next to licensed residential care facilities serving six or fewer persons. A residential facility whose primary purpose is to treat juveniles who have violated criminal statutes relating to sex offenses is carved out of that permission. Subdivision 3(k) repeats the same two size limits in the accessory use list and adds a staffing cap: there must not be more than one outside employee in any such facility.

Larger programs take a different path. Subdivision 4(e) requires a conditional use permit for licensed day care facilities serving 13 through 16 persons, and those facilities must be located within suitably designed structures that are not also used for residential purposes, or must not be within religious or educational buildings. Conditional use permits are decided under the standards in § 300.16, where the City Council must find that the use has no undue adverse impact on public health, safety or welfare.

The R-3 district works differently. Section 300.12, subdivision 3(i) lists licensed day care facilities for five or fewer persons as an accessory use subject to review as a home occupation, while subdivision 2(d) of the same section repeats the 12 and 14 person limits as permitted uses. The city code points to licensure under Minnesota Rules but sets the zoning limits itself.