Effective July 7, 2005

ARTICLE 46 

HOME OCCUPATION

CATEGORY I--RURAL AGRICULTURE DISTRICT 

SECTION 4601 - INTENT AND GENERAL PROVISIONS 

To provide for the operation of limited business activities within the Rural Agriculture District.  These standards are designed to ensure compatibility with other approved uses within this district. 

1. A home occupation is limited to those occupations which are of domestic craft or personal service character, including, but not necessarily limited to the following types of activities: 

A. Such domestic crafts as dressmaking, millinery, sewing, weaving, washing, ironing, custom home furnishings, woodworking and furniture repair. 

B. Such professions as law, architecture, engineering, real estate,  planning, manufacturer’s agent, clergy, writing, photography, and tutoring, provided, however, the service is limited to advice and consultation and the premises are not used for general practice of the profession. 

2. No wholesale, jobbing, or retail business shall be permitted unless it is conducted entirely by mail and/or telecommunications. 

3. Permitted home occupations shall be subject to all the regulations of the applicable zone district. 

4. A home occupation permit shall be required to be obtained from the Zoning Administrator for all proposed home occupations and shall be subject to renewal on an annual basis. 

SECTION 4602 - STANDARDS 

The following conditional use standards shall apply: 

A. Home occupation shall be limited to not more than one per residence.

SECTION 4602 - STANDARDS (continued) 

B. The home occupation shall be operated by a full-time resident of the property on which the business activity is located.  Any participant engaged in the home occupation shall be limited exclusively to family members who are permanent residents within the home. 

C. The home occupations shall be clearly secondary to the use of the lot, parcel or tract of land and shall not change the character thereof. 

D. The home occupation shall not require the construction of any structure that would not otherwise be permitted in the Agriculture District, nor shall a Home Occupation Permit be used for justification for a zoning change. 

E. The home occupation will be operated wholly within the dwelling or within an existing accessory building normally associated with uses permitted in the Agriculture District, not on any porch, deck, patio or other unenclosed or partially enclosed portion of the dwelling unit. 

F. Permitted home occupations shall not affect adversely the residential character of the zoning district or interfere with the reasonable enjoyment of adjoining property. 

G. The home occupation shall not generate noise, vibration, bright lights or glare, fumes, odors, electrical interference, or any other disturbance(s) beyond what normally occurs within the Agriculture District. 

H. Off-street parking spaces shall be provided for clients and/or patrons within a normally sized residential driveway expected in the Agriculture District.  If additional off-street parking is required, such parking shall not be located in the front yard or the required side yard. 

I. There shall be no outside storage of any kind related to the home occupation.  Further, there shall be no outside parking or open storage of trucks over one ton rated capacity, including, but not limited to box trucks, cut-away vans, walk-in vans, dump trucks and semi-tractor and trailers, buses or mobile homes. 

J. No sign for a home occupation shall have more than one (1) face, nor shall any sign face exceed three (3) square feet in area.  See Article 41 - Sign and Billboard Regulations, Section 4105.01 D.