Renting or Owning a Home JUST for Daycare...

[DaveA]

You could "live" there during the week??

Illinois really frowns on people doing that. I know a couple providers nearby lost licenses for doing it. I'm not sure if they pulled the license or just made their lives so miserable they said to heck with it. DCFS's position is if it isn't your actual legal residence you're a center. ****s because there was a house nearby that was a perfect situation for me.

[Blackcat31]

Actually where we were before required us to get our zoning changed. We had to have approval for a large in home business. We could either ask every resident in the neighborhood to sign a form or we could post a sign in the front of the house saying when there would a public hearing. We went the hearing route. Nobody showed up and we were approved in two minutes!!!

Our current home doesn't require that at all. Depends on the city (we are the next city south from our previous home.)

I knew other areas required neighborhood permission or zoning or county commissioner permission etc but I was just relaying info as pertaining to my area and why I think my state/county has the rules or lack of rules that they do.

I've heard some horror stories about other providers trying to run a child care in a separate home as a FAMILY care but they have had tons of issues with their governing bodies from neighborhoods, cities and counties.... I think Sugar is one that had to jump through TONS of hoops to get licensed in her area.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Yes, there were tons of hoops, lots of jumping. It CAN be done though. OP, I have a lot of advice on the topic of turning a home into a center. PM me if you are interested.

[lovemydaycare0912]

Yes, there were tons of hoops, lots of jumping. It CAN be done though. OP, I have a lot of advice on the topic of turning a home into a center. PM me if you are interested.

Can I pm you too? Not right now, but I may or may not go this route!

[thrivingchildcarecom]

Yeah we can't do this legally in Cali either. It ****s because we can never really escape the child care. We work in it and live in it too.

I know some still find a way to do it and stay under the radar, but honestly my first family arrives at 7:45 am and I just can't even imagine what time I would need to get up to actually go over to another location if I needed to be there before they arrived.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Can I pm you too? Not right now, but I may or may not go this route!

Absolutely!

In general, as someone mentioned, you must have zoning approval to open a center. Does this mean residential zoning won't work? NO. Almost every municipality has provisions for special permits or "allowable uses". In my case, the home is also an officially dedicated Historic Structure, that helped secure a "Major Conditional Use". I also had to provide site plans that delineate parking, garbage can storage, play yard, fencing, landscape buffers w my neighbors, etc. I had to have a traffic survey done, a neighborhood impact meeting, sign approval, and be approved by historical resourses, planning, zoning and full city commission.
Sound scary? It is. Difficult? Yep. Costly? VERY. Impossible? Not at all!

[usry2001]

Same scenerio

Hello ALL. I am currently going through the same ordeal with plannin/zoning, and in the next week will go before city council for approval. I am currently planning as if they will rule in my favor and need assistance with purchasing the house I am interested in as a residence although it will not be my primary residence. The lender has suggested that this is not possible but I am just not sure if he is 100%. ANy help would be appreciated.