Tustin, CA Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)
Key Facts
- Small family day care home status
- permitted use in R1 (§9223a4)
- Local standards
- repealed by Ord. No. 1524 (2022)
- Zoning conditions remaining
- none specific to Tustin
- Governing standard now
- state Health and Safety Code/licensing
Summary
A small family day care home is a permitted, by-right use in Tustin's R1 Single-Family Residential District under Tustin City Code Section 9223(a)(4), which points to the development standards once codified at Section 9271(aa). The City repealed those standards outright in 2022, so state law now governs a small family day care home without any added local zoning conditions.
4.Small family day care home subject to the provisions set forth in Section 9271aa. ... aa Repealed (Ord. No. 1524, Sec. 52, 8-16-22)
Full Breakdown
Tustin City Code Section 9223(a) lists a small family day care home as a permitted use in the R1 Single-Family Residential District, item (4), 'subject to the provisions set forth in Section 9271aa.' Turning to Section 9271, however, the entry for subsection 'aa' reads only 'Repealed (Ord. No. 1524, Sec. 52, 8-16-22),' meaning the City Council eliminated its own local development standards for small family day care homes when it overhauled Article 9 in August 2022. The practical effect is that a small family day care home, defined under the California Health and Safety Code, operates in Tustin's residential districts as a by-right use without any Tustin-specific setback, parking, or spacing conditions layered on top of state licensing law; only the State's Community Care Licensing Division standards and the applicable state definition govern the number of children and staffing.
A large family day care home is treated differently: it is defined under the same Health and Safety Code standard but is not listed as a small-home permitted use in Section 9223(a), so it is evaluated separately under the City's day care and child care provisions in Section 9271 rather than as an automatic R1 permitted use.
Violations & Fines
Because the local development standards were repealed, a small family day care home cannot be cited for violating a Tustin-specific zoning condition; it remains subject only to state Community Care Licensing Division rules and to general nuisance and code-enforcement provisions that apply to any residential use, such as parking obstruction or noise complaints, which the City pursues through its standard administrative citation process with escalating fines up to $500 for repeat violations within a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a zoning permit to run a small family day care home in my Tustin house?
Why does the code still reference Section 9271(aa) if it's repealed?
Is a large family day care home treated the same way?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tustin
California rules heatmap·Compare Tustin to another location·View the California home business overview
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Home Daycare in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle home daycare.