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

The City of Montebello regulates child care facilities primarily through its off-street parking standards in Municipal Code Section 17.52.050, part of Chapter 17.52 on off-street parking. The exhibit accompanying that section lists Child Care Centers/Day Care Nurseries under its institutional-use category and sets a floor of no less than three parking spaces, then layers on additional spaces tied directly to how the facility operates: one space for each full-time employee or adult participant, one space for every two part-time employees or participants, and one more space for every twenty-five children the facility is designed to accommodate.

Because the requirement scales with staffing and enrollment rather than square footage alone, a larger center with more staff and a higher licensed capacity must provide proportionally more parking before the Planning and Community Development Department signs off on its site plan or business license. Separately, Montebello's residential zoning treats small, state-licensed day care as an accessory use rather than a stand-alone commercial operation. Section 17.14.020 permits day care for twelve or fewer children in the R-1 single-family zone, and Section 17.12.020 extends the identical allowance to the R-A residential-agricultural zone, provided the home holds the required state license.

That threshold lets a home operator avoid the conditional use permit process that applies to larger day care centers sited in commercial zones such as C-1. Enforcement runs through Chapter 17.06. The planning division is the designated enforcement agency for Title 17, and Section 17.06.060 makes any zoning violation not separately listed as an infraction a misdemeanor carrying a fine or up to six months in jail, or both. Section 17.06.080 treats each day a violation continues as a separate offense.