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Commissioners authorize hearing on permitting daycares in RCA overlay after state commission objections
Summary
County staff asked for a public hearing to consider allowing nonmedical daycares (use type 28) in the Resource Conservation Area overlay; the Critical Area Commission’s program committee pushed for language that would cap occupancy, limit additional lot coverage and bar dimensional variances, a condition county staff said will likely be required for state approval. Commissioners approved a hearing for Feb. 24, 2026.
County planning staff asked the commissioners on Jan. 27 to hold a public hearing on a proposed text amendment that would allow use type 28 — nonmedical daycares, including childcare and adult care — in the Resource Conservation Area (RCA) overlay.
Miss Andritz, representing the Department of Land Use and Growth Management, said staff returned to the board after the Critical Area Commission’s program committee reviewed the county’s earlier ordinance. The program committee, she said, recommended refining the local language to limit occupant counts within existing buildings, restrict the ability to increase lot coverage to accommodate expansions, and prohibit dimensional variances that could be used to exceed Critical Area Commission lot-coverage proposals. “If we don't approve the language, they will not recommend approval,” Miss Andritz said, summarizing the commission’s position.
Deputy County Attorney Don Hauser told commissioners that the statutory framework for critical-area refinements gives the state commission effective oversight of local program amendments. He noted state regulation citations and cautioned that a local prohibition on variances could raise legal challenges; but, he added, the program committee appears unlikely to recommend an amendment absent that limitation.
Commissioners debated the tradeoffs: some said they support expanding daycare options but opposed removing local variance rights; others said the amendment must be changed to reflect the Critical Area Commission’s concerns to move the proposal forward. On that basis the board voted to authorize a public hearing on Feb. 24, 2026, to gather local comment and to allow staff to refine language before any final adoption vote.
Next steps: Department staff will schedule the Feb. 24 hearing; the ordinance language may be revised between the public hearing and any future adoption vote.
