A home day care in a Reston townhouse can care for five children today without a zoning hearing. Taking a sixth child means a public hearing, and in much of Reston, two of them. County staff have drafted a rewrite, and the last of three virtual meetings on it starts Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m.
The draft Zoning Ordinance amendment, dated Oct. 5, covers child care in private homes. County officials found gaps in care for children under five across parts of Fairfax, WJLA 7News reported on Oct. 14. Home providers cost less than centers: in 2025 the median home-based program ran $19,760 a year, against $27,300 for an infant at a center, according to a July staff presentation.
The Town of Herndon writes and enforces its own zoning ordinance, so homes inside town limits fall outside this amendment. Unincorporated neighborhoods with Herndon mailing addresses, such as Oak Hill and Franklin Farm, follow county zoning.
Today, more than seven children in a house or five in a townhouse requires a hearing
Section 4102.7.I of the Zoning Ordinance allows a home day care to care for up to seven children in a single-family detached house and up to five in a townhouse, condo, apartment or manufactured home. The provider’s own children do not count. Going above those numbers, up to the state cap of 12, takes a special permit from the Board of Zoning Appeals. In a planned district, a zoning category for master-planned development, it takes a special exception, which goes before both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.
Much of Reston sits in the 6,245-acre Planned Residential Community district, so many Reston providers face the longer path. A staff white paper found the median application took 104 days to be accepted, then another 104 to reach a special permit decision or 251 for a special exception. The fee is $615, and a required zoning plat can run over $1,000. All 53 applications that reached a hearing between January 2024 and June 2026 were approved. Board Chairman Jeff McKay told FFXnow the process “takes way too long.”
State licensing applies on top of zoning: up to four children takes an annual county permit, and five through 12 takes a Family Day Home license from the Virginia Department of Education, whose inspectors can set a lower cap for a small space.
Staff recommend allowing 12 children in any home type with a staff permit
Staff favor the first of two options in the draft: up to 12 children in any type of home, approved through an administrative permit, meaning zoning staff sign off without a public hearing. Option 2 would allow up to 12 in a detached house and eight in a townhouse or multifamily unit, with a special permit to go higher. Under either option, a provider in a planned district such as Reston’s who still needs a hearing would use the one-hearing special permit instead of the two-hearing special exception.
Other changes in the draft cover staffing, parking and safety:
- Two nonresident employees instead of one, without today’s 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekday limit on their hours.
- One designated off-street space for drop-off and pick-up, such as a driveway spot, for any home day care with more than five children. Homes near transit stations could be exempt under a separate parking amendment due for hearings this fall.
- A county building safety evaluation, which staff are still working out.
The day care must still operate in the provider’s primary residence.
Neighbors would see more drop-offs and fewer public hearings
Twelve children can mean a dozen cars at drop-off and again at pick-up. The proposed standard requires one designated space, not one per family. A provider in a townhouse cluster with only shared parking may need a special permit for an alternative, with the Board of Zoning Appeals weighing on-street parking and nearby drop-off spots. The draft’s home day care standards do not mention notifying neighbors. Loudoun County’s comparable permit requires notice to all neighbors, according to the Fairfax white paper.
Would-be providers should check HOA rules as well as zoning
Virginia’s Property Owners’ Association Act treats home child care as a residential use where local zoning classifies it as accessory, as Fairfax does, unless the association’s declaration expressly prohibits or restricts it. Associations can still set reasonable rules on time, place and manner. Reston owners often answer to Reston Association and a cluster or condo association, so ask both: does our declaration restrict home child care, and what are the rules on parking and signs?
Buyers with young children can map the gaps now
The county publishes an Early Childhood Supply and Access Gaps map showing where programs for children under five fall short. Staff have pointed to public hearings in early 2027, so new capacity from the amendment comes later.
Join the Oct. 21 meeting or send comments
The Wednesday session runs 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Zoom with live Spanish translation (meeting ID 869 8336 4601, passcode 943787, or call 646-558-8656). No registration is required, and the county plans to post recordings. Send comments to principal planner Jacqui Kamp at [email protected]. The county will post hearing dates on its amendment page.
See something missing or wrong? Email us at [email protected] and we will check it and update the post.
