Solano County, CA Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Visiting Hours
- 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. only
- Governing Section
- § 28.72.40(B)(1)(e)(7) and (f)(9)
- Permit
- Use permit plus Chapter 14 business license required
- Employee Cap
- 2 employees limited class, 3 general class
- Parcel Size
- General class needs a 4-acre minimum parcel
Summary
Solano County limits when clients and customers may visit a permitted cottage industry run out of a home or accessory building, restricting on-site visits to 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. under Section 28.72.40(B)(1)(e)(7) and (f)(9), on top of employee caps and a use permit requirement.
e. Specific Standards for Cottage Industries – Limited. Cottage industries – limited shall conform to the following additional requirements:
(1) Not more than two employees may work on the premises in addition to the members of the family residing on the premises. This limitation applies to all employees who come onto the property on a daily basis, even if they work primarily at off-site locations.
...
(7) Customers or clients may come to premises during the hours 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 1868, passed April 9, 2026).
Full Breakdown
40(B)(1) as accessory home-based businesses involving limited manufacturing or sales of goods or services, require a use permit and a business license under Chapter 14 before they can operate in any zoning district that allows them. The code splits cottage industries into two classes, "limited" and "general," each with its own numbered list of standards in subsections (e) and (f). m. That single visiting window applies regardless of the business's other operating hours, and it sits alongside other class-specific caps such as two employees beyond resident family members and a 1,500-square-foot footprint including storage for the limited class, versus three employees, a 3,000-square-foot footprint, and a four-acre minimum parcel for the general class.
Sufficient on-site parking must be provided for both customers and employees under subsections (e)(5) and (f)(5), and any deviation from the standard customer-visit window would require the Zoning Administrator or Planning Commission, whichever issued the underlying use permit, to approve it as a specific condition of that permit.
Violations & Fines
Allowing customer or client visits outside the 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. window violates the conditions of the cottage industry use permit issued under Section 28.72.40(B)(1)(c) and can result in permit revocation proceedings or nuisance abatement by the Department of Resource Management, in addition to separate business-license consequences under Chapter 14.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours can customers visit a home-based cottage industry in Solano County?
Is a permit required before clients can visit at all?
Can the county allow later evening hours for my home business?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Solano County
California rules heatmap·Compare Solano County to another location·View the California home business overview
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