Home Business Zoning Issues
Whether you rent or own your home, you must comply with your city or county’s zoning laws. Finding out the laws in your area should be fairly simple. If you have a computer, look up your city’s web page on the Internet. Go to the section of the planning department, and look for information on running a home business. If you cannot find the information that way, stop by your city’s planning department and ask for regulations governing home businesses. As with landlords and homeowner associations, most planning departments will be concerned about noise, traffic, and eyesores.
They don’t want a big sign reading, “Al’s Junkyard” in a quiet, residential neighborhood, and they don’t want traffic rivaling Macy’s on a busy Saturday. If your planning department hits you with regulations that might be problematic, ask if there is a workaround or if you can receive a variance. Don’t hesitate to ask the planning department how many home businesses it has licensed. Chances are, the more it has allowed, the more routine your visit will be, and the less hassle involved. If your planning department has not experienced very many home businesses, set up a second meeting.
Bring as much research as you can find about your type of home business, and educate your planning department. Don’t let all those scary stories about the planning department put you off - yes, planning departments can give big developers a hard time, and often for very good reasons. But you’re a very, very small and very quiet fish. Many planning departments will be relieved that someone like you is waiting to see them. With a check and a completed form in my hand, I was in the Planning Department offices for 30 seconds! The planner on duty said something along the lines of, “Writer—can’t get less controversial than that,” signed off on my home permit, and shooed me out of the planning office.
Tags: home based business, home business, work from home