Santa Maria, CA Home Business: Cottage Food Operations (2026)

California's Cottage Food / Homemade Food Operations law (Health & Safety Code Sections 113758, 114365 and related provisions, originally AB 1616) lets people sell certain low-risk homemade foods after registering with or being permitted by the local Environmental Health Department, while authorizing cities to layer specified zoning rules. Santa Maria implements this through SMMC Chapter 12-29B. Key local conditions: 'Only the kitchen and attached room(s) inside the private home that have been registered or permitted with the Environmental Health Services Division of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department shall be used for the operation, including storage, of the business.' Sales, deliveries, and loading/unloading are limited to the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily, and 'no more than 20 employee, consumer or delivery vehicle trips in the neighborhood that are related to the operation may be generated in a 24-hour period.' There is no outdoor storage or display, and the general home-occupation prohibitions on signs and address-based advertising in Chapter 12-29 continue to apply.