Home Business in Santa Cruz, CA (2026)
6 verified home business rules for Santa Cruz, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Zoning Restrictions
Santa Cruz Municipal Code Section 24.10.160 allows a home occupation only as a use clearly incidental and secondary to the dwelling, operated by a resident, employing no more than one nonresident, occupying no more than 400 square feet, and generating no more than eight vehicle round trips per day.
Home occupation must stay incidental and residential
Some RestrictionsSanta Cruz Municipal Code Sec. 24.10.160(2) (Home Occupation Regulations)
A home occupation shall be operated and maintained only by a resident of the dwelling unit in which it occurs; shall employ no more than one person at the residence or the property other than the members of the resident family or household; shall not change the residential character of the dwelling units; and shall not generate a vehicular traffic increase of more than eight round trips per day...
Signage Rules
Santa Cruz Municipal Code Section 24.10.160(3)(f) flatly prohibits the placement of any sign advertising a home occupation. A home business may not display an exterior business sign, keeping the residential appearance of the property intact.
No signs advertising a home business allowed
Heavy RestrictionsSanta Cruz Municipal Code Sec. 24.10.160(3)(f) (Home Occupation Regulations)
A home occupation shall not involve: ... f. The placement of a sign advertising the business.
Customer Traffic Restrictions
Santa Cruz IZO home-occupation standards limit customer foot/vehicle traffic so the business remains incidental to residential use and does not generate parking demand exceeding the residence.
Santa Cruz Home Occupation Customer Traffic Limits
Some RestrictionsCottage Food Operations
California Government Code Section 51035 prohibits Santa Cruz from banning a cottage food operation in a residential dwelling. The city must treat it as a permitted residential use or grant a nondiscretionary permit; Santa Cruz processes these through a home occupation zoning clearance (about $142).
Santa Cruz cannot ban home cottage food businesses
Few RestrictionsCalifornia Government Code Sec. 51035(a)
A city, county, or city and county shall not prohibit a cottage food operation, as defined in Section 113758 of the Health and Safety Code, in any residential dwellings, and shall do one of the following: (1) Classify a cottage food operation as a permitted use of residential property for zoning purposes. (2) Grant a nondiscretionary permit to use a residence as any cottage food operation that ...
Looking for Santa Cruz County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Santa Cruz city rules.
Home Business in Santa Cruz County →