Placentia, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Placentia Municipal Code § 23.81.160 governs large family day care homes, which Chapter 23.04 defines as a home that provides family day care for nine (9) to fourteen (14) children, inclusive, including children under the age of ten (10) years who reside at the home. A small family day care home is defined in the same chapter as one providing day care for eight (8) or fewer children.

Location comes first. A large family day care home is permitted only in the R-A, R-1, R-2, R-G, R-3, RPC and C-O zones, and it cannot be established unless a special use permit has been approved.

The permit process in subsection (a) has six steps. The application goes to the planning department for review and approval by the director of development services, with a site plan, statement of use and the prescribed fee established in Section 5.16.160. A decision date is set a minimum of twenty-one (21) days from the date of submittal. Not less than ten (10) days before that date, notice of the proposed use is mailed to all property owners shown on the last equalized assessment roll within a one hundred (100) foot radius of the exterior boundaries of the proposed home. The director decides without a hearing unless the applicant or another affected person requests one, in which case the hearing goes to the next available planning commission meeting. All decisions of the director can be appealed to the planning commission.

Subsection (b) adds physical requirements. Houses must have a block wall a minimum of six (6) feet on rear and side property lines, a two (2) car garage, and compliance with zoning and building code regulations for single-family residences. Before the special use permit is approved, the house is inspected for compliance with building and zoning regulations for single-family residences, and the applicant shows proof of compliance with standards of the State Fire Marshal as adopted in Title 24 of the California Administrative Code.