Fairfax Co. considers changes that could increase access to daycare facilities

Fairfax County is considering rule changes that could help more home daycare facilities pop up across the Northern Virginia suburb.

During a Land Use Policy Committee meeting Tuesday, county staff detailed two proposals that could make it faster and less expensive for those facilities to open.

The ideas come as pockets of the county lack access to care for toddlers under 5, . Childcare centers run out of homes tend to be cheaper and more convenient because of their flexible hours and locations, according to Jacqui Kamp, principal planner with Fairfax County鈥檚 Zoning Administration Division.

鈥淎ccess to high quality, affordable childcare is a critical component of a community鈥檚 well-being,鈥� Kamp said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for child development, supporting working families and fostering economic stability.鈥�

Home daycares are required to have either a permit from the county or a license from Virginia鈥檚 Department of Education, based on the number of kids they鈥檙e working with, Kamp said.

Those with up to four kids in the home need a health and safety inspection, a fire safety inspection and a permit that gets renewed every year.

Any facility working with five to 12 kids needs a license from the state.

Home daycares have to be operated by the person whose primary residence is the house, and one nonresident staffer can work on site between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Currently, 鈥渟taff found that the special permit and special exemption process can add time and cost for providers,鈥� Kamp said.

Special permit applications took 104 days, on average, to get a decision from the Board of Zoning Appeals, Kamp said, and special exceptions took 251 days. All 53 applications that made it to the public hearing phase were approved.

鈥淩educing regulatory barriers can increase the supply of home daycares, addressing supply affordability and parental choice,鈥� Kamp said.

One proposal, Kamp said, would allow home daycare facilities with between five and 12 kids to operate under an administrative permit. It would also increase the number of nonresident workers from one to two.

The second would keep the legislative zoning process in place but change submission requirements and modify permissions.

鈥淭his is absolutely a challenge, a problem,鈥� Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay said. 鈥淚t takes way too long. Coming to the board seems a totally unnecessary step, based on what we see in the fact that all of these have been approved.鈥�

Supervisor Pat Herrity, meanwhile, said some residents who may be interested in opening a home daycare are deterred by the process.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen the fear in the eyes of the people that have had to come before the board and the planning commission,鈥� Herrity said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a hard process.鈥�

However, he said it鈥檚 essential to keep the residency requirement in place, 鈥渙therwise you鈥檙e going to have people buying homes to run daycare businesses, which I don鈥檛 think we want either.鈥�

With some rules for parking and other factors, Supervisor Jimmy Bierman said 鈥渁n administrative process that makes it easier if we set the proper boundaries鈥� makes sense.

The county could begin working on a draft of the proposed changes this summer, Kamp said, and plans to collect public feedback later this fall.

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