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Santa Clara County · Building on your lot

Group homes and residential care in Santa Clara County

Santa Clara County's own rules on group homes and residential care, with the code text for every value.

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Each rule below links to the section of the Santa Clara County Municipal Code it was read from, with the code text one click away (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

What Santa Clara County's code says

Santa Clara County code What Santa Clara County's code adds
Where allowed
  • Rural residential (RR) districts: minimum lot size 5 acres, floor area at most 10,000 square feet, at most 36 residents.
    Applies: Community Care: Expanded; sized to serve the local rural unincorporated population.
    § 4.10.090 · code text
    Uses classified as Community Care: Expanded, shall be subject to the following criteria when proposed in any RR district:
  • A, AR and HS districts: minimum lot 10 acres, floor area at most 10,000 square feet, at most 36 residents.
    Applies: Community Care: Expanded; sized to serve the local rural unincorporated population.
    § 4.10.090 · code text
    Uses classified as Community Care: Expanded, shall be subject to the following criteria when proposed in any A, AR, and HS district:
  • Only on Agriculture-Medium Scale general plan land, and only if the lot is of marginal quality for agriculture.
    Applies: Community Care: Expanded in A, AR and HS districts; marginal means poor soil, lack of water or incompatible nearby uses; not on Large Scale land.
    § 4.10.090 · code text
    Such uses shall only be allowed on lands with a general plan designation of Agriculture—Medium Scale if the subject lot is deemed by the decision-maker to be of marginal quality for agricultural purposes because of one or more of the following conditions: poor soil type, lack of water availability, or an abundance of surrounding incompatible non-agricultural uses.
  • Not allowed on land designated Agriculture-Large Scale by the general plan.
    Applies: Community Care: Expanded uses on land with an Agriculture general plan designation.
    § 4.10.090 · code text
    Such uses are not allowed on any land designated Agriculture—Large Scale by the general plan.

Who this affects

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Frequently asked questions

Where are group homes and residential care homes allowed in Santa Clara County?

Santa Clara County's code: Rural residential (RR) districts: minimum lot size 5 acres, floor area at most 10,000 square feet, at most 36 residents. (Community Care: Expanded; sized to serve the local rural unincorporated population.) (§ 4.10.090); A, AR and HS districts: minimum lot 10 acres, floor area at most 10,000 square feet, at most 36 residents. (Community Care: Expanded; sized to serve the local rural unincorporated population.) (§ 4.10.090).

General information, not legal advice.

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Santa Clara County Municipal Code — full text