Harnett County, NC Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

110(C)(2)(c) sets the standards for an in-home childcare facility as a home-based use. The enrollment cap is split by age group: no more than five pre-school-age children and no more than eight school-age children may be cared for at once, meaning the maximum mixed enrollment tops out well below what a commercial center could serve. The childcare provider must live in the residence full time, not just supervise from off-site or through staff. The required outdoor activity area must be enclosed by a security fence at least four feet high, must sit outside the front building setback established elsewhere in the chapter, and must be sized as the product of 75 square feet times 50% of the approved enrollment, so a facility approved for the maximum 13 children needs roughly 488 square feet of fenced outdoor space.

110(C)(2)(d) adds a further requirement for manufactured homes used as in-home childcare facilities: the home must have underpinning, either a brick curtain wall or galvanized metal, ABS, or PVC skirting with interlocking edges, installed continuously around the perimeter, kept in good condition and unpierced except for ventilation and access. 110(C)(1) also layers on a requirement that every daycare facility comply with applicable state and federal childcare health and safety laws in addition to these zoning standards.