Sierra County, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Family daycare homes in unincorporated Sierra County are governed primarily by California state law, which preempts conflicting local zoning. Although the County's R3 zoning district (Sierra County Code section 15.12.100) historically lists 'day nurseries and foster homes subject to the licensing requirements of the county and the state' among conditional uses, that local treatment is superseded for state-licensed family daycare homes by California's Family Day Care Homes statute (Health & Safety Code sections 1597.30 and following). Following Senate Bill 234 (2019), Health & Safety Code section 1597.45 provides that a large family daycare home 'shall be considered a residential use of property and a use by right' for purposes of all local ordinances, including zoning, and prohibits a city or county from requiring a conditional use permit or imposing 'a business license, fee, or tax for the privilege of operating a small or large family daycare home.' Small family daycare homes (serving up to eight children) are likewise treated as an ordinary residential use. The home must still hold the required California Department of Social Services / Community Care Licensing license and meet state fire and life-safety standards. The County remains the building and environmental authority for the dwelling itself, but it cannot impose a discretionary land-use permit on a licensed family daycare home in a residential zone.