(A) Purpose and intent. The purpose of this section is to permit the establishment of home occupations that are compatible with the residential districts in which they are located.
(B) Definition. For the purpose of this section, the following definition shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
HOME OCCUPATION. An accessory use of a dwelling unit which is:
(a) Used for gainful employment that involves the assembly, processing or sale of goods and/or services; and is
(b) Incidental and secondary to the residential use of the structure and does not change the essential residential character of the dwelling unit; and
(c) Does not include garage/yard sales or home parties that are held for the sale of goods or services whose number of sales events exceeds four a year.
(C) General requirements and performance criteria. All home occupations shall comply with the following standards.
(1) The entrepreneur of every home occupation shall reside in the dwelling unit in which the business operates.
(2) The use shall be conducted entirely within a completely enclosed structure.
(3) The home occupation shall not interfere with the delivery of utilities or other services to the area.
(4) The activity shall not generate any noise, vibrations, smoke, dust, odor, heat, glare or electrical interference with radio or television transmission in the area that would exceed that which is normally produced by a dwelling unit in a zoning district used solely for residential purposes.
(5) No toxic, explosive, flammable, radioactive or other restricted materials shall be used, sold or stored on the site.
(6) There shall be no alteration of the residential appearance of the premises, including the creation of a separate or exclusive business entrance(s) or use of signage to identify the business beyond that expressly allowed in residential districts.
(7) No more than five people at one time shall avail themselves of the service provided by the home occupation use at a given dwelling unit; or no more than 12 people shall avail themselves of the provided service during a 24-hour period.
(8) No clients/pupils shall be permitted between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
(9) No visible outdoor display or storage of materials, goods supplies or equipment shall be allowed.
(10) The home occupation shall, at all times, comply with all other applicable laws and ordinances.
(11) The home occupation shall not cause a significant increase in the amount of traffic or parking on the particular residential street.
(12) The total area used for such home occupations shall take up no more than 15%, or 300 square feet (whichever is greater), of the structure it occupies. In no case shall a parking space within a garage be used to fulfill this area allowance.
(D) Permitted home occupations. The following uses, because of their low-impact nature, and because they do not detract from the residential character of a neighborhood, provided they comply with the limitations set forth herein, are permitted subject to the general requirements and performance criteria specified in divisions (B) and (C) above.
(1) Attorney, CPA, salesperson, architect/landscape architect, interior designer, graphic artist, dog grooming, word processor and consultant for the purpose of preparing documents and drawings, and doing business by phone only;
(2) Artist studios, provided no retail business is conducted on the premises;
(3) Child and adult day care homes provided that they comply with all applicable home occupation regulations. However, child day care homes which do not comply with these home occupation regulations may be allowed in zoning districts where they are listed as special uses and are approved pursuant to the procedures set forth by the Board of Zoning Appeals;
(4) Mail or telephone businesses, for receipt of mail orders only. Business must be conducted entirely by mail and/or telephone;
(5) Teaching/instruction, limited to five pupils at a time;
(6) Seminar groups up to a maximum of four times a year, not to exceed 28 days per year;
(7) One chair barber or beauty shop; and
(8) Other uses with impacts similar to those listed in this section as determined by the Zoning Administrator.
(E) Prohibited home occupations. Certain uses have a demonstrated tendency to impair the uses and value of a residential district because of their tendency to expand beyond the limits permitted for home occupations. For this reason, the following uses, regardless of their compliance with the standards in divisions (B) and (C) above are prohibited as home occupations:
(1) Any repair or rental shop operating on or from the premises such as repair or painting of autos, trailers, boats and other equipment repair or rental;
(2) Any wholesale or retail business of any kind involving in-person transactions on the premises;
(3) Animal hospitals, kennels, stables or bird keeping facilities;
(4) Multiple-chair barber shops; beauty parlors; or massage parlors;
(5) Clubs, including fraternity and sorority;
(6) Funeral chapels or homes;
(7) Medical or dental clinics, or general practice of medicine or dentistry;
(8) Nursing homes;
(9) Restaurants;
(10) Warehousing;
(11) Welding or machine shops; and
(12) Other uses with impacts similar or greater to those listed in this section as determined by the Zoning Administrator pursuant to § 157.049(A)(3).
(F) Provisions for the handicapped. Persons with a medically certified physical handicap may be permitted a variance by the Board of Zoning Appeals to allow a prohibited home occupation.
(Ord. 1997-1, § 130.3(F), passed 1-22-1997)