California Health & Safety Code §1597.40 et seq. (Family Day Care Homes Act) preempts local zoning. Small (up to 8 children) and large (up to 14 children) family daycare homes must be considered a residential use of property and a use by right in any single-family residential zone. Ventura cannot require a conditional use permit, business-zoning approval, or special license for a state-licensed family daycare home, nor charge fees not charged on comparable residential uses. The operator must hold a Community Care Licensing Division license from the California Department of Social Services. A Ventura business tax certificate is still required because it applies uniformly to all residential income-generating activity.
Per Cal. HSC §1597.45 (small family daycare, up to 8 children) and §1597.465 (large family daycare, up to 14 children), the state and its building/fire codes preempt local laws governing the use and occupancy of family daycare homes. Local ordinances 'shall not directly or indirectly prohibit or restrict the use of a facility as a family daycare home, including, but not limited to, precluding the operation of a family daycare home.' Local public entities may apply building/setback/lot-dimension standards only if identical to those applied to other single-family residences (HSC §1597.46). Operators must be licensed by the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD). Within Ventura, this means the city's Home Occupation Standards limits on employees, customer traffic, and 500 sq ft do NOT apply to a state-licensed family daycare — those would constitute a prohibited restriction. The city's general business tax certificate (a tax of general application) and standard building/fire code compliance still apply. The Ventura County Office of Education and Ventura County Resource & Referral can help operators navigate licensing.
Family daycare licensing enforcement rests with the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division — not the city. The city may enforce uniformly-applied building, fire, and health standards, but cannot cite a state-licensed family daycare for operating without a city zoning permit or for exceeding home-occupation traffic limits.
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