Hawthorne Municipal Code Ch. 17 24d. FAMILY DAY CARE HOMES

§ 17.24d.010. Family day care home.

"Family day care home" means a single-family home in a residential zone in which nonresidential, nonmedical care, protection and supervision is provided to children under the age of 18 on less than a 24-hour basis by a provider licensed by the state of California in the provider's own home. The family day care homes governed by this chapter are either small family day care homes or large family day care homes as defined in Sections 17.24d.020 and 17.24d.030.

(Ord. 1826 § 9, 2005; Ord. 2263, 6/23/2026[1])

[1]

Editor's Note: This chapter was renumbered from Ch. 17.73.

§ 17.24d.020. Small family day care homes.

A. "Small family day care home" means a home licensed by the state of California that provides family day care to six or fewer children, or up to eight children, including children under the age of 10 years who reside at the home, when all of the following conditions are met: at least one child is enrolled in and attending kindergarten or elementary school and a second child is at least six years of age; no more than two infants are cared for during any time when more than six children are being cared for; and the licensee has notified each parent that the facility is caring for two additional school age children and that there may be up to seven or eight children in the home at one time.

B. Small family day care homes shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be a permitted use in all zones in which single-family residential uses are a permitted use: provided that when the family day care home is on leased or rented property, that the licensee has obtained the written consent of the property owner.

(Ord. 1826 § 9, 2005; Ord. 2263, 6/23/2026)

§ 17.24d.030. Large family day care homes.

A. "Large family day care home" means a home that provides care, protection and supervision for no more than 12 children or up to and including 14 children including children under 10 years of age who reside in the home, when all of the following conditions are met: at least one child is enrolled in and attending kindergarten or elementary school and a second child is at least six years of age; no more than three infants are cared for during any time when more than 12 children are being cared for; and the licensee notifies the parents that the facility is caring for two additional school age children and that there may be up to 13 or 14 children in the home at one time.

B. Large family day care homes shall be permitted in single-family residential zones subject to first obtaining a large family day care home permit.

The applicant for a large family day care home permit shall apply to the Planning Department for a large family day care home permit.
The application shall be granted provided that it meets all of the following requirements and the applicant accepts all the conditions set forth in Section 17.24d.030C:

a. There is not another large family day care home within 300 linear feet of an existing permitted large family day care home;

b. The proposed large family day care home can be operated in conformity with the City's adopted noise standards;

c. There is adequate parking for one nonresident employee. The applicant's driveway shall be sufficient for this purpose provided that the use of the driveway will not block the public sidewalk right-of-way or the public street and all traffic laws are obeyed. Where street parking is available for residential uses, that shall be sufficient for this purpose provided that all traffic and parking regulations are obeyed;

d. There is adequate parking for loading and unloading of children. The applicant's driveway shall be sufficient for this purpose provided that the use of the driveway will not block the public sidewalk right-of way of way or the public street and all traffic laws are obeyed. Where street parking is available for residential uses, that shall be sufficient for this purpose provided that all traffic and parking regulations are obeyed and double parking is prohibited.

C. All large family day care home permits shall be conditioned upon:

A license issued to the provider to operate a large family day care home by the state of California for the location specified in the application;
The provider distributes to all persons utilizing the services of the large family day care home a notice of procedures for loading and unloading children;
Compliance with the City's adopted noise standards;
Continued availability of a parking space in the provider's driveway or on the street for one employee;
Continued availability of driveway or street parking sufficient for loading and unloading children;
Compliance of the provider, any employees and all persons utilizing the services of the day care home with all applicable parking and traffic laws and regulations;
If the provider does not own the home in which the large family day care home is to be operated and care is provided for more than 12 and unto and including 14 children, the provider must obtain the written consent of the property owner.

(Ord. 1826 § 9, 2005; Ord. 2263, 6/23/2026)

§ 17.24d.040. Applications for large family day care home permits.

A. The Director shall have 30 days in which to determine whether an application for a large family day care home permit is complete and shall notify the applicant within that time period if the application is not complete. A notice that an application is not complete shall be in writing and specify the matters needed to complete the application.

B. The Director shall have 30 days after determining, the application is complete in which to determine whether to grant or deny the application.

C. Not less than 10 days prior to the date on which the Director intends to issue a decision granting an application for a large family day care home permit, the Director shall give individual mailed or hand-delivered notice thereof to all affected persons. As used in this chapter, "affected persons" shall mean persons shown on the last equalized assessment roll as owning real property within a 100-foot radius of the exterior boundaries of a proposed large family day care home. Notice shall not be given to persons residing outside that 100-foot radius.

D. No hearing shall be held on the application unless a hearing is requested by an affected person within 10 days of the date on which notice of the intended decision was placed in the mail to that person. If an affected person requests a hearing, the matter shall be set for hearing before the Planning Commission as an appeal from the decision of the Director granting the permit within 45 days of the date on which the request was filed. Notice of the hearing shall be given in the manner set forth above in Section 17.24d.040C and shall be limited to affected persons and the applicant.

E. If no hearing is requested, the Director shall issue a written decision granting or denying the application within five days after the time for affected persons to request a hearing has elapsed. The decision shall be sent to the applicant by first class mail, shall specify the grounds for any denial of an application and shall inform the applicant of the right to appeal the decision to the Planning Commission and that any such appeal must be filed, within 15 days of the date on which written notice of the denial was placed in the mail to the applicant.

F. Appeal to the Planning Commission. Any appeal from a decision of the Director, including a request for a hearing filed by an affected person pursuant to Section 17.24d.040D, shall be set for hearing before the Planning Commission within 45 days of the filing of the appeal. In considering the appeal, the Planning Commission shall be limited to determining whether the applicant has met the conditions for granting a permit set forth in Section 17.24d.030B. An application that meets those requirements shall be granted subject to the conditions set forth in Section 17.24d.030C. The decision of the Planning Commission shall be set forth in a written resolution adopted by the commission and the resolution shall contain findings of fact explaining the grounds for the Commission's decision.

G. Appeal to the City Council. The applicant and any affected person may appeal the decision of the Planning Commission to the City Council.

Any such appeal must be filed within 10 days of the date on which the Planning Commission's resolution making its decision is adopted.
The appeal shall be set for hearing before the City Council within 45 days of the date on which it is filed. Notice of the hearing shall be limited to affected persons and the applicant.
In considering the appeal, the City Council shall be limited to determining whether the application meets the requirements set forth above in Section 17.24d.030B.2. If those requirements have been met, the permit shall be granted subject to the conditions set forth in Section 17.24d.030C.
The decision of the City Council shall be set forth in a written resolution that sets forth the findings of fact explaining the decision and the resolution shall be sent to the applicant by first class mail together with a certificate of mailing showing the date on which it was placed in the mail to the applicant.

(Ord. 1826 § 9, 2005; Ord. 2263, 6/23/2026)

§ 17.24d.050. Revocation of a large family day care home permit.

A. Upon discovery that a provider is in violation of a condition of the permit, the Director shall give written notice to the provider by first class mail that they are in violation of the large family day care home permit issued by the City. The notice shall specify the nature of the violation and inform the provider that if the violation is not cured within 30 days or within any extension of that period allowed by the Director, the City will initiate revocation proceedings. An extension of time to cure the violation may be granted upon a finding that the provider has taken good faith steps to cure the violation and is making substantial progress toward curing the violation.

If the violation is not cured within 30 days, or any extension of time granted by the Director, the provider shall be given at least 20 days' notice, by first class mail to the provider's address, of a Planning Commission hearing to consider revocation of the permit. Notice of the revocation hearing shall be limited to the provider and affected persons and shall be given in the manner specified in Section 17.24d.040C. The provider shall have the burden of showing that it was not in violation or that it has cured the violation and will be able to continue to operate in full compliance with the conditions of the permit. The Planning Commission may revoke the permit unless the provider demonstrates that it was not in violation or has cured the violation and will be able to continue to operate in full compliance with the conditions of the permit.
The decision of the Planning Commission shall be set forth in a written resolution containing findings explaining the basis of its decision. The Planning Commission's decision may be appealed to the City Council by the affected person. Any such appeal must be filed within 15 days of the date the Planning Commission's resolution is adopted. A copy of the resolution shall be sent to the provider by first class mail together with a notice informing the provider that the Commission's decision is appealable to the City Council and that any such appeal must be filed within 15 days of the date on which the resolution was adopted.

B. An appeal of the Planning Commission's decision shall be set for hearing before the City Council within 45 days of the date on which the appeal was filed. Notice of the hearing shall be limited to affected persons and the provider and shall be given in the manner set forth in Section 17.24d.040C.

The provider shall have the burden of showing that it was not in violation or that it has cured the violation and will be able to continue to operate in full compliance with the conditions of the permit. The City Council may revoke the permit unless the provider demonstrates that it was not in violation, or has cured the violation, and will be able to continue to operate in full compliance with the conditions of the permit.
The decision of the City Council shall be set forth in a written resolution containing findings explaining the basis of its decision. The resolution shall be mailed to the provider by first class mail together with a certificate of mailing setting forth the date on which it was placed in the mail.

(Ord. 1826 § 9, 2005; Ord. 2263, 6/23/2026)