Chino Hills, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Unlike a typical home occupation, a licensed family child care home in Chino Hills is controlled by California state law that preempts local ordinances. Under Health & Safety Code Section 1597.45 (as amended by SB 234, the Keeping Kids Close to Home Act, effective January 1, 2020), the use of a home as a small or large family daycare home 'shall be considered a residential use of property and a use by right' for the purposes of all local ordinances, including zoning. A local jurisdiction 'shall not impose a business license, fee, or tax for the privilege of operating a small or large family daycare home,' and large family homes caring for up to 14 children must be treated the same as small homes - a permitted residential use, not a conditional or discretionary use. This means Chino Hills cannot zone family child care homes out of residential neighborhoods or require a special use permit for them, and the operator's primary approval comes from a California Department of Social Services (Community Care Licensing) license. Consistent with this, family daycare is conspicuously absent from the City's list of prohibited home occupations - the City's HOP form prohibits boarding houses and short-term rentals but does not prohibit family child care. Operators must still comply with state licensing requirements (capacity, fire clearance for large homes, staffing) and reasonable spacing/concentration rules state law allows, but the City may not treat the home as a non-residential use.