Can I run a business from home in Manhattan Beach, California?
Yes, with a Home Occupation Permit from the Community Development Director. The business must be run entirely indoors in no more than 500 sq ft, with no on-site employees other than residents, no walk-in visitors without appointments, and nothing visible from outside the property.
| Approval | Home Occupation Permit from the Community Development Director [1] |
| Max floor area | 500 sq ft, entirely inside a building [2] |
| Outdoor storage | Not allowed [2] |
| Non-resident employees on site | None (includes independent contractors) [3] |
| Business vehicles parked outside a garage | Max 1 [4] |
| Prohibited uses | Motor vehicle repair, beauty shops, barber shops [5] |
| Kilns | Max 10 cubic feet [6] |
| Appeal | To the Planning Commission; neighbors within 300 ft can appeal [7] |
Permit
Any home occupation in a residential (R) district needs a Home Occupation Permit. You file an application with the Community Development Director, who issues it if the business meets the code's conditions [1]. The application describes the business, the number of employees or contractors, the floor space used, storage and vehicles.
Conditions
- Size and location: conducted entirely within a building, using no more than 500 sq ft of floor area, with no outdoor storage [2].
- Not noticeable: the business must not be apparent beyond the property, and no noise may be perceptible at or beyond the property line.
- Employees: no one other than a resident may be employed on site or report to work there, including independent contractors [3].
- Traffic and vehicles: no significant extra pedestrian or vehicle traffic, and no more than one commercially licensed or business vehicle parked on site outside an enclosed garage [4].
- Customers and signs: no office or sales room open to visitors without appointments, and no advertising of the address that draws people to the home [5]. In practice that means by-appointment clients only and no business sign.
- Goods: no stock-in-trade other than products made on the premises.
- Prohibited: motor vehicle repair, beauty shops and barber shops [5]; kilns over 10 cubic feet [6].
Enforcement and appeals
The Director must revoke a permit after 30 days' written notice if the business doesn't comply and isn't corrected. The Director's decision can be appealed to the Planning Commission by the applicant or by owners of property within 300 feet [7].
State protections
Small family day care homes are permitted in all residential districts. The code still requires an administrative permit, with neighbor notice, for a large family day care home [8]; state law now treats licensed large family day care homes as a residential use by right, so it may override that permit requirement. California's cottage food law allows one full-time-equivalent non-household employee; state law may override the code's resident-only employee rule for a registered cottage food operation.
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Next steps
- File a Home Occupation Permit application with the Community Development Department (1400 Highland Ave.), describing the business, floor space, storage, vehicles and any employees or contractors.
- Plan for appointment-only client visits, no outdoor storage, no on-site non-resident staff and no address advertising.
- Check whether you also need a city business license, and for food businesses, register with Los Angeles County Environmental Health.
Common questions
- Can I run a business from home in Manhattan Beach, California?
- Yes, with a Home Occupation Permit from the Community Development Director.
- How big can a home business be in Manhattan Beach, California?
- It must be run entirely indoors in no more than 500 sq ft, with nothing visible from outside the property.
- Can I have employees or visitors at a home business in Manhattan Beach, California?
- No on-site employees other than residents, and no walk-in visitors without appointments.
- What home businesses are prohibited in Manhattan Beach, California?
- Motor vehicle repair, beauty shops and barber shops are prohibited.
California state protections for home-based businesses
California has no general statewide home-occupation law. Cities and counties set the rules on employees, signs, customer visits and parking. State law protects a few specific home businesses:
Family child care homes (Health & Safety Code §1597.45):
- A licensed small (up to 8 children) or large (7 to 14 children) family daycare home is a residential use by right under all local ordinances, including zoning. A city can't require a use permit.
- Cities can't charge a business license, fee or tax for operating one, and it isn't a change of occupancy under building codes.
- Local rules may apply only if they are identical to those for other homes in the same zone, whether the home is rented or owned.
Cottage food operations (Gov. Code §51035; AB 1616, effective 2013):
- Cities and counties can't prohibit home cottage food operations. They must allow them as a permitted use or through a permit limited to reasonable spacing, traffic, parking and noise standards.
- A cottage food operation has no more than one full-time-equivalent employee besides family or household members. Class A (direct sales only) is capped at $75,000 a year and Class B at $150,000, adjusted for inflation (H&S Code §113758).
- You must register (Class A) or get a permit (Class B) from the county environmental health agency.
Home kitchens selling meals (microenterprise home kitchen operations): allowed only where the city or county has authorized them, with a permit and a limit of 30 meals a day and 90 a week (§113825).
What the ordinance says
- Sec. 10.52.070(A), Municipal Code Title 10 Part IV Site Regulations (Ch. 10.52 Residential site regs incl. 10.52.050 Accessory structures, 10.52.070 Home occupation; Ch. 10.60 all districts; Ch. 10.74 Accessory Dwelling Units)
A home occupation in an R district shall require a Home Occupation Permit, obtained by filing a completed application form with the Community Development Director. The Community Development Director shall issue the permit upon determining that the proposed home occupation complies with the requirements of this section.
- Sec. 10.52.070(C)(2), Municipal Code Title 10 Part IV Site Regulations (Ch. 10.52 Residential site regs incl. 10.52.050 Accessory structures, 10.52.070 Home occupation; Ch. 10.60 all districts; Ch. 10.74 Accessory Dwelling Units)
A home occupation shall be conducted entirely within a building and shall occupy no more than five hundred (500) square feet of floor area. No outdoor storage shall be permitted.
- Sec. 10.52.070(C)(4), Municipal Code Title 10 Part IV Site Regulations (Ch. 10.52 Residential site regs incl. 10.52.050 Accessory structures, 10.52.070 Home occupation; Ch. 10.60 all districts; Ch. 10.74 Accessory Dwelling Units)
No one other than a resident of the dwelling shall be employed on-site or report to work at the site in the conduct of a home occupation. This prohibition also applies to independent contractors.
- Sec. 10.52.070(C)(6), Municipal Code Title 10 Part IV Site Regulations (Ch. 10.52 Residential site regs incl. 10.52.050 Accessory structures, 10.52.070 Home occupation; Ch. 10.60 all districts; Ch. 10.74 Accessory Dwelling Units)
No more than one (1) commercially licensed vehicle or vehicle related to the home occupation shall be permitted to be stored or parked on the site, other than in an enclosed garage.
- Sec. 10.52.070(C)(7), Municipal Code Title 10 Part IV Site Regulations (Ch. 10.52 Residential site regs incl. 10.52.050 Accessory structures, 10.52.070 Home occupation; Ch. 10.60 all districts; Ch. 10.74 Accessory Dwelling Units)
No motor vehicle repair, beauty shop or barber shop shall be permitted, and a home occupation shall not include an office or sales room open to visitors without prior appointments, and there shall be no advertising of the address of the home occupation that results in attracting persons to the premises.
- Sec. 10.52.070(C)(5), Municipal Code Title 10 Part IV Site Regulations (Ch. 10.52 Residential site regs incl. 10.52.050 Accessory structures, 10.52.070 Home occupation; Ch. 10.60 all districts; Ch. 10.74 Accessory Dwelling Units)
No kilns exceeding 10 cubic feet in size shall be permitted, and a home occupation shall comply with the performance standards prescribed by Section 10.60.120 , provided that no noise shall be perceptible at or beyond the property line.
- Sec. 10.52.070(D), Municipal Code Title 10 Part IV Site Regulations (Ch. 10.52 Residential site regs incl. 10.52.050 Accessory structures, 10.52.070 Home occupation; Ch. 10.60 all districts; Ch. 10.74 Accessory Dwelling Units)
In accord with Chapter 10.100 , decisions of the Community Development Director may be appealed to the Planning Commission by the applicant or owners of the property that is located within 300 feet of the site of the home occupation.
- Sec. 10.12.020, Additional Use Regulation L-22, Municipal Code Title 10 Part II Base District Regulations (Ch. 10.12 Residential Districts; 10.12.020(M) domestic animals)
L-22 Application for an administrative large family day care permit to the Director of Community Development is required and shall be made on forms provided by the City and shall include such information as may be reasonably required by the Director for a complete understanding of the request.