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Skamania County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code

CHAPTER 21

86 CHILD CARE FACILITIES

§ 21.86.010 Purpose-Intent.

Affordable, good quality, and licensed child day care is critical to the well-being of parents and children in the community and is a needed community service. It is the purpose of this chapter to facilitate the siting of licensed child day care facilities in a manner which simplifies the review and approval process while ensuring conformance with the surrounding land uses.
(Ord. 2005-02 (part))

§ 21.86.020 Family day care home.

A. 
A family day care home shall be allowable in R-1, R-2, R-5, R-10, RES-20, community commercial, FA-10 and FA-20 zone classifications and shall be subject to the following requirements:
1. 
Meet Washington State child day care licensing requirements:
2. 
Comply with all building, fire safety, health code, and business licensing requirements;
3. 
Lot size, building size, setbacks, and lot coverage conform to the standards of the zoning district, except if the structure is a legal nonconforming structure;
4. 
A safe passenger loading area must be provided;
5. 
Signage, in any, will conform to Section 21.70.110
6. 
Filing of a child day care registration form with Skamania County as provided for in Section 21.86.060 of this chapter;
7. 
No structural or decorative alteration which will alter the single-family character of an existing or proposed residential structure or be incompatible with surrounding residences is permitted.
B. 
A family day care home may be permitted in all other zone classifications only upon issuance of a conditional use permit pursuant to Section 21.16.070 of this title.
(Ord. 2005-02 (part))

§ 21.86.030 Child mini-day care center.

Child mini-day care center not located in the residence of the care provider shall be permitted in R-1, R-2, R-5, R-10 and community commercial zone classifications and shall be permitted upon administrative review.
A. 
Notice. Written notice of the proposal shall be mailed to all property owners of record location within three hundred feet of any portion of the boundary of the subject property and any contiguous lots in the same ownership, and shall include a description of the proposal, site location, deadline for submitting written comments, and the address and phone number of the county planning department.
B. 
Administrative Review. The planning director shall review applications for a mini-day care center not located in the residence of the care provider and may approve, modify, or deny the application subject to the following requirements:
1. 
Meet Washington State child day care licensing requirements;
2. 
Comply with all building, fire safety, health code, and business licensing requirements;
3. 
Signage, if any, will conform to the requirements of Section 21.70.110 of this title;
4. 
Filing of a child day care registration form with Skamania County as provided for in Section 21.86.050 of the chapter;
5. 
Parking requirements shall comply with Section 21.70.070 of this title;
6. 
The site must be landscaped in a manner compatible with adjacent residences;
7. 
No structural or decorative alteration which will alter the residential character of an existing residential structure used for a child mini-day care center is permitted. Any new or remodeled structure must be designed to be compatible with the residential character of the surrounding neighborhood;
8. 
The child mini-day care center shall not be located within three hundred feet of another child mini-day care center or child day care center not located in the residence of the care provider, excluding any child day care center which is an accessory use pursuant to Section 21.86.040(D) of this chapter;
9. 
The planning director may attach conditions to the permit in order to reduce conflicts between the child mini-day care center and surrounding neighborhood; i.e., noise attenuation, special parking needs, and hours of operation;
10. 
If the planning director finds that there is just cause for a public hearing, final approval shall be determined through the conditional use permit process pursuant to Section 21.16.070 of this title and shall be subject to the requirements of Section 21.86.040 of this chapter. The process used to appeal an administrative review decision is contained in Section 21.16.070 of this title.
C. 
A child mini-day care center may be permitted in all other zone classifications only upon issuance of a conditional use permit pursuant to Section 21.16.070 of this title.
(Ord. 2005-02 (part))

§ 21.86.040 Child day care center.

A. 
A child day care center shall be allowable in the community commercial zone classification and shall be subject to the following requirements:
1. 
Meet Washington State child day care licensing requirements;
2. 
Comply with all building, fire safety, traffic safety, health code, and business licensing requirements;
3. 
Setbacks, screening, landscaping, lot size, building size, and lot coverage shall conform to the pertinent portions of the zoning code;
4. 
Parking requirements shall conform to section 21.70.070 of this title;
5. 
Filing of a child day care registration form with Skamania County as provided for in Section 21.86.060 of this chapter.
B. 
A child day care center may be permitted in all other zone classifications only upon issuance of a conditional use permit pursuant to Section 21.16.070 of this title.
C. 
Limitations in Use of a Family Residence. No child day care center shall be located in a private family residence unless the portion of the residence where the children have access is used exclusively for the children during the hours the center is in operation, or is separate from the usual living quarters of the family.
D. 
Accessory Use. A child day care center, if sited on the premises of an operating community service facility shall be considered accessory to the principal use of the property concerned.
(Ord. 2005-02 (part))

§ 21.86.050 Registration.

Each child day care service provider must register with Skamania County planning department by completing a child day care registration form, as provided by the planning department, prior to initiation of the use. Upon registration, the child day care provider must be able to demonstrate compliance with the applicable conditions of this chapter.
(Ord. 2005-02 (part))