§ 23.08.030. Home Occupations.

An accessory use of a dwelling unit for gainful employment involving the manufacture, provision, or sale of goods or services is subject to the standards of this section.

a.

Permit requirements. Zoning Clearance, except for garage sales (see Section 23.08.030 g(1) following) which require no land use permit, and are subject to business license clearance if required by the county tax collector.

b.

Appearance, visibility and location. The standards of this section determine what physical changes may occur in a dwelling unit to accommodate a home occupation, and where on a residential site a home occupation may be conducted.

(1)

Changes to the dwelling. The home occupation shall not change the residential character of the outside appearance of the building, either by the use of colors; materials; lighting; signs; or by the construction of accessory structures or garages visible from off-site and not of the same architectural character as the residence; or by the emission of noise, glare, flashing lights, vibrations or odors not commonly experienced in residential areas.

(2)

Display of products. The display of home occupation products for sale, in a manner visible from the public street or adjoining properties is prohibited.

(3)

Outdoor activities. On sites of less than one acre the use shall be conducted entirely within a principal or accessory structure; except instructional activities that must be performed outdoors, and in the case of pottery or ceramics production, one relocatable kiln with a maximum interior volume of 36 cubic feet may be located in a rear yard when all other associated pottery or ceramics production activities (except pottery drying) occur indoors. Outdoor storage of materials related to the home occupation is allowed only on one acre or larger (except as otherwise provided by Section 23.08.024 - Accessory Storage), where such storage is to be screened from view of any public road or adjacent property.

(4)

Use of garage or accessory structure. The use of a garage or accessory structure is allowed subject to the size limitations of Section 23.08.032c and Section 23.08.032g (Residential Accessory Uses - garages and workshops, respectively), except that the conduct of the home occupation shall not preclude the use of the garage for vehicle parking on a daily basis. On sites of less than one acre, if a garage is used for a home occupation, the garage door shall not be left open in order to conduct the home occupation business.

c.

Area devoted to a home occupation. The home occupation shall be incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the site as a residence.

d.

Employees. No person other than members of the household residing on the premises may be employed and working on the site.

e.

Hours of operation. Hours of operation are unrestricted except that home occupations which generate sounds audible from off-site shall be limited to the hours from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., provided that such home occupation complies with the standards of Section 23.06.040 (Operational Standards - Noise).

f.

Limits on the kinds of home occupations allowable. Subject to the rest of this section, allowable home occupations consist of:

(1)

Office-type or personal services (including personal instruction such as music lessons and counseling services) that do not involve the presence of more than one client vehicle at any time; and other services (e.g. repair, maintenance, etc.) that are performed on the premises of a client.

(2)

Handcraft or artwork production, including but not limited to pottery and ceramics, artistic glass or metalwork, electronic components, woodcarving and woodworking (except for mass-production operations such as cabinet shops), antique furniture restoration, painting and photography.

(3)

The personal sale of cosmetics, personal or household products (except appliances), when such sales occur on the premises of the purchaser, provided that wholesale sales may occur pursuant to subsection g of this section.

(4)

Offices for off-site businesses (e.g. contractors, etc.) where the home site is used for phone answering and bookkeeping only, and there is no on-site storage of materials or equipment related to the business.

Provided that no home occupation is to involve on-site use of equipment requiring more than standard household electrical current at 110 or 220 volts or that produces noise (see Section 23.06.040 - Exterior Noise Standards), dust, odor or vibration detrimental to occupants of adjoining dwellings.

g.

Sale of products. On-site retail sales of the products of a home occupation are prohibited, except:

(1)

Garage sales, or the sale of handcrafted items and artwork produced on-site are allowed not more than twice per year, for a maximum of two days per sale; and

(2)

Home distributors of cosmetics and personal or household products may supply other approved home occupation proprietors.

(3)

The sale of animals in conjunction with an animal keeping operation approved pursuant to Section 23.08.046, where such sales are also approved pursuant to Chapter 9.04 of this code (Animal Regulations).

h.

Signing. One non-illuminated identification sign with a maximum area of two square feet may be erected pursuant to Section 23.04.300 (Sign Regulations). A commercial vehicle displaying any sign identifying the home occupation and parked on or adjacent to the residential site visible from the public street is included in determining the maximum allowable area of on-site fixed signs.

i.

Parking and traffic. Vehicles used and traffic generated by a home occupation shall not exceed the type of vehicles or traffic volume normally generated by a home in a residential neighborhood. All parking needs of the home occupation shall be met off the street. For purposes of this section, normal residential traffic volume means up to 10 trips per day. This subsection does not apply to garage or handcraft sales pursuant to subsection g(1).

[Added 1995, Ord. 2715; Amended 2004, Ord. 3001]