Valencia County updates zoning to allow child care, multigenerational housing

Valencia County homeowners will soon have a legal path to open more child care in neighborhoods and to add a second kitchen for multigenerational living, after county commissioners rewrote zoning rules to match state law.

The ordinance, passed by the Board of County Commissioners on May 20, says child care homes will be treated as permitted residential uses, not as special cases that need discretionary approval. Licensed child care centers must be permitted by right in the zoning districts where they are allowed, and the county says the changes take effect July 1.

That is a practical change for families and small providers. A parent who wants to start or expand a home-based child care operation should face less uncertainty under the new rules, because the county has removed the extra approval step that once applied to some child care uses in Chapter 154. The ordinance also bars local restrictions that conflict with Senate Bill 96, the state law known as Regulated Child Care Zoning Requirements.

The state law went into effect after moving through the Legislature and being signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on March 10 as Chapter 62. It requires registered child care homes, licensed family child care homes and licensed group child care homes to be treated as residential uses. It also requires licensed child care centers to be permitted by right in commercial, mixed-use or multifamily residential zones, while allowing only limited local regulation of off-street parking. Homeowners associations cannot prohibit those child care operations.

For households under strain from housing costs or caregiving needs, the county’s multigenerational housing language could matter just as much. The ordinance creates a mechanism for more flexible living arrangements and allows up to two kitchens in a single-family dwelling, giving families more room to house aging parents, adult children or other relatives without violating zoning rules.

The state analysis of SB 96 says the law preserves statewide fire and life safety oversight, so the zoning change does not erase other safety requirements. In other words, the county has opened the door on land-use rules, but child care operators and homeowners still have to comply with licensing, safety and building requirements that remain in force.

Residents saw the changes in print in the Valencia County News-Bulletin on May 28 and June 4, giving the county its final public notice before the July 1 deadline. In a county where leaders have said population growth has increased demand for local services, the zoning update gives Valencia County families more room to organize daily life around child care and extended family under one roof.