Hayward, CA Building Safety: Childcare Center Rules (2026)

3510 defines a 'Day Care Center' as a facility providing non-medical care to 15 or more children and/or adults needing supervision or assistance with daily living, on less than a 24-hour basis, expressly covering pre-schools, infant centers, and extended day care facilities. That threshold matters because it is what separates a Day Care Center from the smaller state-licensed 'Day Care Home,' capped at 14 people including any resident children under 10. Where a center can locate depends on the zone. 010, allows a Day Care Center by right in the Neighborhood General, Urban Neighborhood, Urban Neighborhood-Low, Downtown Main Street, and Urban Center zones, but bars it entirely in the Neighborhood Edge zone.

In the Mission Boulevard Corridor zones, a separate use table permits a Day Care Center by right in MB-CN, MB-NN, and MB-CC but requires a Conditional Use Permit in MB-CS1. 2015. Because the definition tracks state licensing categories rather than setting Hayward's own occupancy or building standards, a center operator still has to secure a state Community Care Licensing permit and meet the California Building and Fire Codes' assembly-occupancy requirements separately from the City's zoning permit.