Under California Health and Safety Code 1597.45, a small or large family daycare home is a residential use by right in all zoning districts. Nevada County cannot require a conditional use permit, zoning clearance, or business license. Small homes serve up to 8 children and large homes up to 14; the State licenses providers.
Family daycare homes in unincorporated Nevada County are governed primarily by California state law, which preempts local zoning. Health and Safety Code Section 1597.40 declares it state policy that family daycare homes be situated in normal residential surroundings and provides that local laws shall not directly or indirectly prohibit or restrict the use of a facility as a family daycare home. Section 1597.45 states that 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, but not limited to, zoning ordinances,' and that a local jurisdiction 'shall not impose a business license, fee, or tax for the privilege of operating a small or large family daycare home.' SB 234 (2019) confirmed that both small and large family daycare homes must be treated as a residential use by right, so the County cannot require a conditional use or zoning permit. A small family daycare home serves up to 8 children and a large family daycare home up to 14 children. Local restrictions on building height, setback, or lot dimensions are allowed only if identical to those applied to all other residences in the same zoning designation. Providers are licensed by the California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, not the County.
Because the use is protected by state law, the County may not deny or condition it through zoning. A provider must still hold the required State license; operating an unlicensed facility over the exempt limit violates state licensing law (enforced by CDSS), not local zoning.
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See how Nevada County's home daycare rules stack up against other locations.
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