Laguna Niguel, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 9-1-35.18 treats a small or large family day care home as a residential use of property, so it is allowed in a legal dwelling unit in every residential district without a separate zoning permit, consistent with state Health and Safety Code chapters 3.4 and 3.6. A small family day care home may care for up to six children as of right. It can expand to seven or eight children without hiring an additional adult attendant if at least one enrolled child is in kindergarten or elementary school, a second child is at least six years old, no more than two infants are present when more than six children are being cared for, and the licensee has notified each parent of the larger group size.

A large family day care home may care for seven to 12 children, expandable to 13 or 14 under the same age-mix and infant-count conditions, plus written consent from the property owner if the home is rented or leased. Every family day care home must otherwise meet state and local health and safety regulations, comply with the residential district's development standards under § 9-1-33, and follow the parking and outdoor lighting rules in §§ 9-1-63 and 9-1-35.15, meaning a large day care home still needs the driveway and off-street parking capacity a residential lot in its district requires.