Home Business in Santa Rosa, CA (2026)
4 verified home business rules for Santa Rosa, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Zoning & Home Occupation Permits
Under Santa Rosa Zoning Code Section 20-42.070, a home occupation is allowed in any residential zone only when it is clearly secondary to the primary residential use and will not change the residential character of the neighborhood. Several specific uses - including auto repair, kennels, pet grooming, animal hospitals, bee keeping, weapons or ammunition sales, welding shops, and woodworking or metal shops - are categorically prohibited as home occupations.
Home occupations subordinate to residential use; specific uses banned
Some RestrictionsCalifornia Government Code Section 51035 (AB 1616, Stats. 2012, Ch. 415, Sec. 2)
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, but 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 oper...
Signage Rules
Per Santa Rosa Zoning Code Section 20-42.070, a home occupation must have no exterior signs except limited name identification allowed by Code. Citywide Chapter 20-38 (Signs) caps single-family residential signs at six square feet of area and six feet of height, and signs must sit at least five feet inside the property line.
No exterior signs for home occupations except limited nameplate
Some RestrictionsSanta Rosa Zoning Code Section 20-42.070 (Home Occupations) and Chapter 20-38 (Signs); City of Santa Rosa Sign Regulations page; Common Codes Enforced page
A Home Occupation in Santa Rosa must... have no exterior signs, except limited name identification allowed by Code. Most signs require a Sign Permit. A Sign Permit is needed when installing a new sign or replacing or modifying an existing sign. Prohibited signs include off-site signs (billboards), moving, flashing, or windblown signs, and signs that create safety hazards or obstruct visibility....
Customer Traffic Restrictions
An exempt Santa Rosa home occupation cannot generate customer traffic at all: no clients or customers may visit the home as a regular business practice. A home occupation that needs client visits must instead get a Director Conditional Use Permit and provide one on-site parking space for each arriving client, customer, or employee.
Santa Rosa Caps Client Visits to Home Businesses
Some RestrictionsSanta Rosa City Code § 20-42.070(C)(2)(c), (C)(3)(a)-(b)
2. Standards for exempt home occupations. [...] c. The home occupation shall not generate vehicular or pedestrian traffic not normally associated with a single-family residential use. There shall be no employees other than resident of the dwelling, and no customers or clients shall visit the home as a regular business practice (excluding the tutoring of no more than two students at one time); a...
Home Daycare
Santa Rosa's residential land-use table lists small and large family day care homes as a Permitted (P) use requiring only a Zoning Clearance in every residential zone: RR, R-1, R-2, R-3, MH, and TV-R. No Conditional Use Permit, hearing, or neighbor notice applies, unlike a standalone child day care center.
Family Day Care Homes Permitted by Right in Santa Rosa
Light RestrictionsSanta Rosa City Code § 20-22.030, Table 2-2
TABLE 2-2 Allowed Land Uses and Permit Requirements for Residential Districts. P - Permitted Use, Zoning Clearance Required [...] LAND USE (1) PERMIT REQUIRED BY ZONE: RR, R-1, R-2, R-3, MH, TV-R, Specific Use Regulations [...] Child day care—Large family day care home (3): P P P P P P § 20-42.050. Child day care—Small family day care home (3): P P P P P P § 20-42.050.
Looking for Sonoma County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Santa Rosa city rules.
Home Business in Sonoma County →