Annapolis council adopts ordinance to expand home-based child care, lifts several city limits

The Annapolis City Council on Tuesday adopted Ordinance O1-25, titled “expansion of childcare options in Annapolis,” approving three council amendments that change how the city regulates family and home-based child care.

The ordinance, approved on third reading by unanimous roll call, removes several local restrictions on family child-care homes, aligns local outdoor-space and capacity rules with Maryland state standards (COMAR), and narrows a local provision so facilities in resource conservation/critical areas comply with state critical-area law.

Council members said the changes are intended to increase the number of child-care slots available locally without altering state-set safety and staffing ratios. Under the ordinance as amended, the city will permit larger “family child care” configurations allowed under state law (the council discussed raising the local cap that previously limited many such homes to eight children), eliminate an existing limit on hiring one nonresidential employee in some family child-care centers, and replace a city-specific outdoor-play-area requirement with the state standard in COMAR. One amendment also removes city-imposed street-parking restrictions for family child-care homes.

Alderman Savage moved the first and second amendments; Alderman Shanda Meyer moved the third amendment. The ordinance sponsor supported amendment language that clarifies compliance with Maryland’s critical-area requirements, saying the change corrected an earlier drafting error and avoided conflict with state law. Council proceeded to adopt the ordinance as amended and then approved it on third reading.

Votes at a glance

Ordinance O1-25 (expansion of childcare options in Annapolis) — Adopted as amended (third reading). Roll call recorded all “aye” votes by Mayor Gavin Buckley and the attending aldermen. The council debated three amendments before final passage.

What changed and why it matters

- Family child care capacity: The ordinance aligns the city’s caps with state definitions and allows the larger family child-care category the state permits (previous city cap of eight children would be removed where state rules allow 9–12). Council members said that change will enable more small, home-based providers to serve additional children without changing state-mandated safety ratios.

- Staffing and employees: The ordinance removes the city’s limit on hiring a single nonresidential employee in some family child-care homes; council members said that restriction had…