Home Occupations

There are two types of Home Occupations:

Level I - Restricted to occupations that are not observable to the neighborhood and with no employees other than family members who reside on the property.

Level II - Occupations that rely on customer trade and have a potentially adverse impact on the neighborhood.

LEVEL I HOME OCCUPATIONS; STANDARDS OF OPERATION.

Home occupations meeting the following standards of operation shall be considered a permitted use on residential or agricultural property with a single-family residence:

1. There shall be no interruption, congestion or change to the character of the neighborhood in terms of appearance, noise, traffic, vehicular parking and employee/customer congregation resulting from the operation of the home occupation.

2. No person other than a member of the family residing on the premises shall be engaged or employed in such occupation.

3. The house shall be primarily used as a residence, and not more than 25% of the gross floor area of the house shall be used for the home occupation. No activities associated with the home occupation shall be conducted outside or in an accessory structure.

4. There shall be no change in the outside appearance of the house or premises; nor there be any evidence of the conduct of the home occupation visible from the street or adjacent properties. No separate entrance shall be added to the residence for the home occupation.

5. There shall be no outside storage of goods, products, equipment or other materials associated with the home occupation. No solid waste shall be generated, placed, used, stored or sold on the property in conjunction with the home occupation.

6. No traffic shall be generated in greater volume than would normally be expected in the neighborhood. Any need for parking by the home occupation shall be met off the street and other than in a required front yard.

7. No equipment or process shall be used in the home occupation which creates noise, vibration, glare, smoke, fumes, odors, or is dangerous or otherwise detrimental to persons in the home or on adjacent property.

8. The storage of commercial vehicles shall be subject to the requirements of section 6-2003 of the Chesapeake Zoning Ordinance.

9. Only one sign not exceeding 2 square feet, attached to the home, may be displayed.  No sign may be displayed on property zoned Planned Unit Development (PUD).

LEVEL II HOME OCCUPATIONS.

The following home occupations, because they rely heavily on customer trade and have potentially adverse impacts on neighboring uses, require a conditional use permit:

1. Home occupations permitted as Level I, which do not meet one or more of the standards of operation set out in subsections 1 – 9 above.

2. Home occupations conducted wholly or partially outside the home or within an accessory building.

3. Professional offices involving customer or client visits or delivery of materials, supplies or products to the premises.

4. Schools, tutoring, music lessons, voice lessons, or similar teaching or training services where more than one student attends class or is given instruction at any one time.

5. Child-care establishments with more than 4 children (in addition to children residing in the home).

6. Repair or servicing of small internal combustion engines containing no more than one piston cylinder used in lawn mowers, edger’s, hedge trimmers, power saws and similar yard maintenance equipment.

7. Bed and breakfast establishments in South Norfolk located within the Chesapeake historic and cultural preservation overlay district.

8. Massage therapy establishments and massage therapists (must also comply with all requirements of the city code).

9. Riding or boarding stables and kennels in the A-1 agricultural district.

10. Home occupations involving on-premises retail sales and personal services that generate customer visits or delivery (Monday – Saturday) of materials, supplies or products to the premises.

11. Home occupations with one employee not residing on the premises. No more than one such employee shall be permitted.

12. Small contracting businesses in the A-1 agricultural and RE-1 residential estate districts in strict conformance with the 14-302.C. of the Chesapeake Zoning Ordinance.

LEVEL II HOME OCCUPATIONS; STANDARDS OF OPERATION.

1. The home occupation shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to the residential use of the property. In no case shall the area devoted to sales, storage, display or conduct of such home occupation exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the gross floor area of the residence or such smaller area as may be stipulated by city council. Any outside area devoted to or used in the home occupation shall be clearly depicted on the approved site plan.

2. All permitted customer visits and deliveries to the property shall be limited to the period between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, unless otherwise specified by the city council.

3. Off-street parking shall be provided, shall be in addition to those otherwise required for the residential use of the property and shall be no less than ten (10) feet from any property line. All parking spaces shall be effectively screened from view from adjacent properties by landscaping and/or fencing approved by city council.

4. The nature, type and extent of services to be offered or items to be displayed, stored or sold shall be specifically stipulated in the conditional use permit authorized by city council.

USES SPECIFICALLY PROHIBITED.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this ordinance, the following uses are specifically prohibited as home occupations:

1. Tattoo parlors, including permanent make-up.

2. Any use associated with the repair or servicing of internal combustion engines with the exception of those authorized section B.6. above.

3. Motor vehicle engine and body repair, renovation, or painting.

4. Tow truck service, including parking of tow trucks on the premises.

5. Junkyards, automobile graveyards and tow truck storage yards.

6. Solid waste management facilities, as defined in section 62-86 of the city code.

7. Used or new motor vehicle sales.

8. Riding or boarding stables or kennels, except in the A-1 agricultural district when authorized under section B.9. above.

9. Veterinary clinics or hospitals.

10. Funeral chapels, funeral homes or crematoriums.

11. Restaurants, clubs or drinking establishments.

12. Sexually oriented businesses.

13. Manufacturing or processing.

14. Other activities and land uses which the zoning administrator determines to be substantially similar in character, nature, intensity or impact to the activities listed above.

For additional information, please contact Zoning Administration at 382-8454.

For information concerning Conditional Use Permits, please contact the Planning Department at 382-6176.

Revised 5/6/11 AR