Alhambra, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Alhambra's home occupation section (23.22.160) expressly does not apply to family day care, which the city regulates separately. The city's zoning definitions describe a family day care facility as one licensed by the State of California, located in a residential unit, where the resident provides care and supervision for children under 18 for periods of less than 24 hours a day; a small family day care home serves eight or fewer children (including resident children under age 10) and a large family day care home serves seven to 14 children. The controlling law, however, is California Health and Safety Code Section 1597.40 et seq. Following Senate Bill 234 (2019), both small and large family day care homes are treated as a residential use of property and a use by right for purposes of all local ordinances, so a city may not require a use permit, conditional use permit or other discretionary zoning approval, and may not directly or indirectly prohibit or restrict the use of a residence as a family day care home. The state building and fire codes preempt local rules governing the use and occupancy of family day care homes. A city may apply only the building height, setback and lot-dimension standards that are identical to those for other single-family residences. In practice, that means an Alhambra resident operating a licensed small or large family day care home does so as a by-right residential use, with state licensing (administered by the California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing) being the principal approval rather than a city home occupation permit.