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

59 to add local operational-permit categories, and item 7 covers care facilities. 1 sets the trigger for day care: any day care with an occupant load greater than eight persons must hold an operational permit from the Bureau of Fire Prevention before it can operate. 2 exempts residential or commercial institutional care facilities whose occupancies already comply with California Health and Safety Code § 13235, so the local permit layer applies specifically to child day care operations that cross the eight-person threshold, not to every care setting in the city.

1. A day care operator planning to serve more than eight children (or otherwise reach an occupant load above eight) needs this fire-side operational permit in addition to any state child-care licensing obtained through the California Department of Social Services; the city's requirement is a life-safety check layered on top of, not a substitute for, state licensing. 010(A)(4) sets infraction fines of $100 for a first offense, $500 for a second violation of the same section within one year, and $1,000 for a third or subsequent violation within one year, with each day of continued violation counting as a separate offense.