The Terre Haute City Council on Sept. 4 approved changes to the municipal code intended to make it easier to open licensed child-care centers and to give the city a way to track and inspect providers.
City officials said the measures will align local occupancy limits with state licensing, create a new commercial zoning class limited to child-care centers, and require an annual registry and inspection for child-care providers.
Marcus Mower, city engineer, told the council the city’s current limits in city code were lower than state rules and created confusion for operators. "We've decided that it would be smart to align with the state," Mower said. He added the new zoning class is “a very restrictive commercial zone that only allows childcare facilities, so there's not that fear in the future.”
The council approved general ordinance 8-20-25, which amends zoning rules for residential and commercial districts to accommodate commercial child-care centers, and general ordinance 10-20-25, which creates a registry for child-care providers and a $5 annual fee tied to inspections. Mower said the registry is modeled on the city’s rental registry and will help inspectors know where licensed child-care operations are located. "This is the tool you're talking about is, City Works. So this is another layer to City Works, database that you're building," Councilperson said during discussion.
Supporters said the changes could reduce the need for variances or special planned developments by providing a clear, limited zoning option for larger commercial child-care facilities. Council members asked about administrative workload. Mower acknowledged the ordinances will add inspections but said building inspectors already review new commercial uses and that the registry will largely be digital.
The council voted to take action and then approve both ordinances by voice vote with no roll-call tally recorded in the transcript. The measures received bipartisan support in remarks during the meeting and were presented to the council with a favorable recommendation from area planning.
The ordinances take effect under the city’s normal code-adoption timetable unless the council sets another effective date.