Council amends regulations for child day care, adult care

Following concerns expressed by local day care providers, the Fernley City Council amended the day and night care provisions in the city’s development code during a public hearing at the Feb. 4 meeting to make it easier to provide overnight child care, allow adult day care and remove other barriers to offering these services in Fernley.

All day care, night care and adult care uses would require a city business license, but the new ordinance allows adult day care in the same zones as child care facilities and requires the same application process. The ordinance also eliminates the requirement for a conditional use permit for overnight child care, according to a staff report.

In addition, use standards have been updated to allow outdoor play hours for children during daylight hours and require outdoor play area fencing of opaque materials at least six feet in height. Parking restrictions also indicate client parking may not adversely affect adjacent residential properties, the staff report noted.

The city’s planning staff prepared the day care changes to the development code in response to concerns of local providers and the Children’s Cabinet, who indicated current regulations make it difficult to provide day care in Fernley, especially during overnight hours “when a large portion of parents are working,” according to the staff report.

New definitions in the proposal include adult day care, described as “A licensed establishment operated to provide care or supervision during the day, such as social activities, minor health care assessments, meals and recreation for five or more persons 18 years of age or older. The facility may not be used as a residence. The definition does not include halfway houses for recovering alcohol and drug abusers.”

Child care facility is as defined by Nevada Revised Statutes 432A and includes “any home, institution, business or establishment in which five or more children under 18 years of age are received, cared for or maintained for any period of time. Does not include accessory, in-home child care as defined in this chapter.”

Child care, in-home is defined as “child care services offered within the permanent residence of the provider for the purpose of providing care for not more than four children under 18 years of age for a period of less than 24 hours.”