FXCO wants to make it easier to provide home-based childcare

A proposed Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance amendment would reduce the regulatory barriers for home-based daycare facilities with the goal of expanding access to childcare.

The Department of Planning and Development is hosting three virtual community meetings on the changes: at 7 p.m. on Oct. 14, 12 p.m. on Oct. 15, and 12 p.m. on Oct. 21. Learn more here.

The Zoning Ordinance currently requires home-based childcare providers to obtain a special permit or special exception to care for more than seven children in a single-family detached home and more than five children in a townhouse or multifamily dwelling.

Under the Virginia Code (§ 22.1-289.02), a home-based childcare provider can serve up to 12 children under age 13, exclusive of the provider’s own children, with a special permit or special exception.

The draft Zoning Ordinance amendment offers several options for increasing the maximum number of children allowed by right:

• Allow up to 12 children in all dwelling types with an administrative permit;
• Allow up to 12 children in single-family detached and manufactured homes with approval of an administrative permit; or
• Allow up to eight children in all dwelling types with an administrative permit and require a special permit for a maximum of 12 children in all dwelling types.

Related story: Streamlined ALU rules proposed

Another change in the draft proposal would increase the number of nonresident employees allowed from one to two. A special permit would allow more than two nonresident employees. The limitation on nonresident employee hours would be removed.

A new proposed use-specific standard would require a dedicated off-street parking space (such as a driveway) for drop-off and pick-up for a home-based daycare with more than five children.

The draft proposes allowing home daycare providers in planned districts that request modification of applicable use standards to go through a Board of Zoning Appeals public hearing rather than hearings at the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.

According to a White Paper by the Fairfax County Zoning Administration Division, home-based childcare is less expensive than center-based childcare.

In 2025, the median annual price for mixed-age childcare in a home-based setting in Fairfax County was $19,760. The median cost for childcare centers in the county in 2025 was $27,300 for infants, $24,638 for toddlers, and $22,308 for preschoolers.  

The White Paper says the application process that home-based childcare providers must go through adds time and costs, which discourages many applicants from trying to care for more than the minimum number of children allowed by right. And that results in fewer affordable childcare options for working parents.