North Plains City Zoning Code
HOME OCCUPATIONS
§ 155.430 PURPOSE.
(A) The purpose of this subchapter is to encourage those who are engaged in small commercial ventures that could not necessarily be sustained if it were necessary to lease commercial quarters or which, by the nature of the venture, are appropriate in scale and impact to be operated within a residence. Home occupations are encouraged for their contribution in reducing the number of vehicle trips often generated by conventional businesses.
(B) Two types of home occupations are contemplated by this code:
(1) Administrative home occupations meeting the standards in § 155.431 of this chapter are allowed by right; provided, the owner has a current business license and all other uses and structures on the subject property are in conformance with the applicable zoning; and
(Prior Code, § 16.085.000) (Ord. 445, passed 5-15-2017)
§ 155.431 ADMINISTRATIVE HOME OCCUPATION STANDARDS.
(A) Appearance of residence.
(1) The home occupation shall be restricted to lawfully-built enclosed structures and be conducted in such a manner as not to give an outward appearance of a business and may not exceed 25% of the floor area of the dwelling; or occupy no more than 500 square feet of a garage, either attached or detached; or occupy no more than 500 square feet of any other outbuilding.
(2) The home occupation shall not eliminate any required off-street parking spaces for the dwelling.
(3) The home occupation shall not result in any structural alterations or additions to a structure that will change its primary use or building code occupancy classification.
(4) The home occupation shall not violate any conditions of development approval (such as, prior development permit approval).
(5) No products and or equipment produced or used by the home occupation may be displayed to be visible from outside any structure.
(B) Storage.
(1) Outside storage, visible from the public right-of-way or adjacent properties that exceed what is customary for a single-family residence in the vicinity, is prohibited.
(2) On-site storage of hazardous materials (including toxic, explosive, noxious, combustible or flammable) beyond those normally incidental to residential use is prohibited.
(3) Storage of inventory or products and all other equipment, fixtures and activities associated with the home occupation shall be allowed in any structure.
(C) Employees.
(1) Other than family members residing within the dwelling located on the home occupation site, there shall be not more than one full-time equivalent employee at the home occupation site at any given time. As used in this subchapter, the term HOME OCCUPATION SITE means the legal lot on which the home occupation is conducted.
(2) Additional individuals may be employed by or associated with the home occupation, so long as they do not report to work or pick up/deliver at the home occupation site.
(3) The home occupation site shall not be used as a headquarters for the assembly of employees for instruction or other purposes, including dispatch of employees to other locations.
(D) Advertising and signs. Signs shall comply with all applicable sign regulations.
(E) Vehicles, parking and traffic.
(1) One commercially-licensed vehicle associated with the home occupation is allowed at the home occupation site. It shall be of a size that would not overhang into the public right-of-way when parked in the driveway or other location on the home occupation site.
(2) There shall be no more than three commercial vehicle deliveries to or from the home occupation site daily. There shall be no commercial vehicle deliveries during the hours of 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.
(3) There shall be no more than one client’s or customer’s vehicle at any one time and no more than eight per day at the home occupation site.
(F) Business hours. There shall be no restriction on business hours; except that, clients or customers are permitted at the home occupation from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. only, Monday through Saturday, subject to divisions (A) and (E) above.
(G) Prohibited home occupation uses.
(1) Any activity that produces radio, television or other electronic interference; noise, glare, vibration, smoke or odor beyond allowable levels as determined by local, state or federal standards, or that can be detected beyond the property line; is prohibited.
(2) Any activity involving on-site retail sales, including garage sales exceeding the thresholds of a temporary use, is prohibited; except that, the sale of items that are incidental to a permitted home occupation is allowed. For example, the sale of lesson books or sheet music from music teachers, art or craft supplies from arts or crafts instructors, computer software from computer consultants and similar incidental items for sale by home business is allowed subject to divisions (A) through (F) above.
(3) The following uses and uses with similar objectionable impacts, because of motor vehicle traffic, noise, glare, odor, dust, smoke or vibration, are prohibited:
(a) Ambulance service;
(b) Animal hospital, veterinary services, kennels or animal boarding;
(c) Auto and other vehicle repair, including auto painting; and
(d) Repair, reconditioning or storage of motorized vehicles, boats, recreational vehicles, airplanes or large equipment on-site.
(H) Enforcement. The City Manager or designee may visit and inspect the site of a home occupation in accordance with this subchapter periodically to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations, during normal business hours and with reasonable notice.
(Prior Code, § 16.085.005) (Ord. 445, passed 5-15-2017)
§ 155.432 HOME OCCUPATIONS THAT REQUIRE A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT; STANDARDS.
(A) Generally.
(1) The purpose of this section is to encourage those who are engaged in small commercial ventures that do not conform to the provision for an administrative home occupation that allow home occupations as outright permitted uses that do not require a conditional use permit. This section provides a process for more intense home occupations to be allowed with conditional use permit approval by the Planning Commission and notice to surrounding property owners.
(2) These home occupations may be permitted, with conditions of approval when appropriate, in order to increase the benefits of people working and living in the same place, while protecting neighboring residents from adverse impacts of home occupation activities. These benefits to the business owner and to the general public include: reduced number of commute-to-work trips; day-time “eyes on the street” at the residence; and a neighborhood-scale version of mixed residential and commercial uses.
(B) Approval process and criteria.
(1) Home occupation permit. Applications for proposals that cannot meet all of the standards required for an administrative home occupation shall be processed as a conditional use procedure, as governed by §§ 155.070 through 155.077 of this chapter using the approval criteria in division (B)(2) below. In addition to the application requirements for a quasi-judicial procedure, the applicant shall provide:
(a) A written narrative or letter:
1. Describing the proposed home occupation;
3. Demonstrating compliance with the criteria in division (B)(2) below.
(b) A site plan, not necessarily to scale but with accurate measurements, of the lot proposed for the home occupation, including:
1. The property lines and their dimensions;
2. Outlines of the foundations of all buildings proposed for home occupation use with dimensions for each wall, and the distances from each wall to the nearest property line;
3. Boundaries and dimensions of driveways and parking areas, indicating areas for use by home occupation employees and customers;
4. Outlines of the foundations of abutting residences, and the distances from the shared property line to the nearest wall of each neighboring residence; and
5. Identifying the buildings and areas of those buildings in which home occupation activities will take place, and identifying which activities will take place in which buildings and areas.
(2) Criteria. The Planning Commission shall approve, approve with conditions or deny an application for a conditional use home occupation based on all of the following criteria:
(a) The proposed use will not be materially detrimental to the stated purposes of applicable code requirements and to other properties within a radius of 100 feet of the subject property;
(b) Impacts to surrounding properties may exist but can be mitigated; and
(c) Existing physical and natural systems, such as, but not limited to, drainage, natural resources and parks, will not be adversely affected any more than would occur if the development occurred in compliance with an administrative home occupation.
(Prior Code, § 16.085.010) (Ord. 445, passed 5-15-2017)