O'Fallon, MO Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

035 of the Zoning Code defines 'DAYCARE CENTER, CHILD' broadly: a place providing shelter and personal care to children unrelated to the operator within the third degree, for four or more hours of any twenty-four-hour day, run for profit or not, and it expressly includes child care facilities, kindergartens and nurseries. Because the definition sets no minimum number of children, a family child care business run out of a house meets the same legal definition as a commercial daycare center. Appendix A to Title IV, the Permitted and Conditional Use Table, lists 'Daycare center, child' as a 'C' use, conditionally permitted, in the R-1, R-1A, R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-5 residential districts, meaning every residential district in the city requires a conditional use permit before the operator may begin caring for children.

Under the Appendix A note, a 'C' designation means the permit must be granted by the City Council after a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission, not approved administratively by city staff. 320, the application first goes to the Planning and Development Department for a staff report, then to a Planning and Zoning Commission hearing, followed by a first and second reading and vote by the City Council. 325 requires an opportunity for citizen comment at both the Commission and Council hearings and lets the Council attach conditions such as time limits, screening, parking and hours restrictions. A denied application cannot be resubmitted for twelve months absent new evidence.