Revision revised:
Posted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/gentry/News/2899/
GENTRY ó An ordinance proposal dealing with home-based occupations, under consideration by the planning and zoning commission, was returned to the city attorney for additional revisions.
A few additional changes were deemed necessary at the Sept. 18 meeting of the planning and zoning commission before it will recommend an ordinance requiring home occupation permits for home-based occupations in residential zones. Among those changes are:
ï Moving bed and breakfast and doctor and dentist offices from the prohibited home-occupation category to permitted with the issuance of a conditional-use permit;
ï Allowing home-based occupations which carry on work or trade at unfixed locations outside the home base to have employees as long as the employees meet at the job site and not at the home base of the business;
ï Requiring any equipment used in the occupation to be stored behind the front of the residence.
As the draft ordinance is written, all home-based occupations in residential zones will require home-occupation permits, except that hobbies conducted solely within the home with no external impact on the residential zone will not be counted as home occupations even if occasional items are sold on the premises or transported off the premises for sale.
Home occupations are divided into Type-A and Type-B categories. Applicants for Type-A home occupations can receive a permit through initial administrative approval of the mayor or city clerk ó approval which is subject to the review of the planning and zoning commission. To receive administrative approval, a home occupation must meet the following requirements:
ï Must be located entirely within the home;
ï Must be operated solely by the residents of the dwelling;
ï May not be primarily a retail sales operation, though incidental sales of shampoo or cosmetics are allowed;
ï May not occupy more than 25 percent of the ground-floor area of the home;
ï Must not display merchandise or have outside storage of equipment of materials;
ï Does not alter the exterior appearance of the home or dwelling;
ï Does not create noise, vibration, glare, fumes, electromagnetic interference, odors or air pollution outside the home;
ï Has no more than one nonilluminated identification sign ó no more than two square feet ó mounted flush to the dwelling;
ï Does not involve the storage of hazardous materials, other than substances of a type and quantity normally associated with a home or hobby within a home;
ï Will not cause more than one customer vehicle to be parked in the area of the home at a time; and
ï Does not involve the external or visible manufacturing of goods at the home.
Any home occupations in residentially-zoned area which do not meet all the requirements of a Type-A home occupation must be individually considered and approved by the planning and zoning commission through the conditional-use procedure as a Type-B occupation. Such occupations must still meet restrictions regarding traffic, noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors, air pollution, electromagnetic interference and the use and storage of hazardous materials. In addition, Type-B occupations may not be primarily retail sales and must be owned and operated by the residents of the home or dwelling.
The proposed ordinance lists types of home occupations which would be allowed under the ordinance and those which would not be allowed. Examples of those permitted include dressmaking, sewing, artistic endeavors, tutoring and music instruction (no more than two students at a time ), computertelephone- or mail-based activities, architectural or engineering services and marketing of personal- or home-care products with no stock kept in the dwelling.
Examples of items prohibited in residential areas include restaurants and bars, kennels, car sales and leasing, rest homes, tourist homes or uses which would require building upgrades to commercial standards.
The draft ordinance provides for a permit fee for home-occupation permits, but no fee has been set. It also provides for legally established businesses currently operating under a conditional-use permit to continue to do so, provided they comply with current laws and regulations and do not become a public nuisance.
The draft ordinance will be brought back before the planning and zoning commission at its Oct. 16 meeting for consideration and possible recommendation to the city council. The meeting time will be 7 p. m.