Planning Commission recommends council approve zoning changes to reduce childcare permitting barriers

The Reno City Planning Commission on Nov. 5 unanimously recommended that City Council adopt a text amendment to reduce permitting barriers for childcare providers, with staff saying the changes aim to make it easier and less costly to open licensed child care in the city.

Grace MacKinnon, senior management analyst, told commissioners the initiative began when the Children’s Cabinet and Council members asked staff to review the zoning code for obstacles to opening childcare. "Seventy‑two percent of Nevadans live in a childcare desert," MacKinnon said, summarizing state and regional data she used to frame the proposal. She said the amendment would remove the minor conditional use permit (MUP) requirement for in‑home and workplace child care and would reduce the conditional use permit (CUP) requirement to an MUP for childcare centers in residential zones while adding objective standards to reduce…