Staff proposes broad childcare code changes to expand access across nearly all zones

Kitsap County staff told the Planning Commission they are proposing changes to the county code to increase the availability and predictability of child‑care facilities across the county. Heather Cleveland said staff recommends allowing child care in almost all zones—with the exception of Industrial and Greenbelt—and aligning county definitions with the state definition.

The draft would convert existing conditional use permit (CUP) requirements into a structure with administrative conditional use permits and clearer, repeatable conditions drawn from historical CUPs for day care and Montessori operations. Staff said the changes aim to reduce unpredictability that providers say creates barriers to financing and long‑term operation.

Why it matters: Child care is a county priority and staff said aligning definitions and establishing predictable permitting conditions could make it simpler for day‑care centers and in‑home providers to expand or open new facilities in non‑industrial parts of the county.

Details: Staff reviewed historical CUP conditions and consulted the Kitsap County Child Care Task Force. The draft incorporates the state child‑care definition into the county code. Staff emphasized that not every goal in the Rural and Resource Lands chapter will directly result in code changes, but said child‑care updates were prioritized because of strong public and stakeholder interest.

Next step: Staff will include childcare code language and comment analysis in the deliberation packet for Planning Commission consideration on Oct. 7 and will return a revised draft to the Board of County Commissioners as part of the Year of the Rural process.