Pismo Beach, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Section 17.38.050 of the 1998 Zoning Code sets the city review standards for child day care facilities. It states that the standards apply in addition to the rest of the Zoning Code and to the requirements of the California Department of Social Services. Licensing by that department is required for every child day care facility, and a land use permit application must include a copy of the license. The city code prints two zoning codes under Title 17, and this page quotes the 1998 Zoning Code.

A small family day care home is permitted within any single-family residence located in a residential zone. A large family day care home is allowed in the same setting but requires approval of a non-discretionary minor use permit by the director. In place of the hearing notice under Chapter 17.58, all property owners within one hundred feet of the proposed site receive notice at least ten days before the director decides. No public hearing is held unless the applicant or another affected person requests one in writing. Approval is granted if the director determines the home will comply with the standards in subsection E.

Those standards apply to large family day care homes and child day care centers alike. No residential property can be bordered on more than one side by a child day care facility, and a drop-off and pick-up area must be established so that children are not placed at risk and street traffic is not unduly interrupted. A large home can use its own driveway as the drop-off area.

The 1998 definitions in § 17.62.020 describe a large family day care home as care for seven to fourteen children and a small one as eight or fewer, as printed, and both definitions count resident children under the age of ten. The home occupation section, § 17.38.070, states that it does not address child care businesses, which fall under § 17.38.050 instead.

Pismo Beach uses two adopted zoning codes. The city's Zoning and Land Use page states that properties inside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1983 Zoning Code, and properties outside the Coastal Zone are regulated by the 1998 Zoning Code.