Traffic Concerns Addressed
Updated home occupation regulations that have been proposed were brought before Buena Vista City Council this past Thursday. A public hearing and a first reading of a zoning text amendment were held.
Tom Roberts, community development director, said the updated rules are intended to bring clarity to ambiguous language and to “strike the right balance between allowing residents to conduct business activity from their homes while minimizing negative impacts on the neighborhood.”
The idea of revising home occupations rules came to the attention of City Council and the Planning Commission in the summer of 2024 when residents of the Racy Acres subdivision came to Council with complaints about a neighbor’s home-based business. The neighbors were upset about traffic the business generated and felt it was out of place in a residential setting.
The Planning Commission last month recommended approval of the zoning text amendment that members and staff had formulated over a period of several months. Roberts said there are currently 100 home occupations registered in the city with active business permits.
The proposed text amendment states that “the intent of this section is to regulate the operation of businesses, professions, trades or similar activities typically undertaken for gainful employment within residential zones. Home-based businesses are an important element of the city’s economy and provide critical goods, services and employment. Home occupations are secondary to the residential character of the property and neighborhood.”
Eliminated from the text would be a provision that home occupations can only sell products or services “produced by members of the family living on the premises.” This provision, which hasn’t been enforced, prohibits commercially produced products from being sold.
The amended text addresses traffic concerns. It’s proposed that customer traffic be limited to pre-arranged appointments and the number of customer appointments be limited to just three at any given time and a total of 12 per day.
Roberts suggested that home occupations needing to exceed the “3-12” rule should arrange for pick-ups or drop-offs of products at alternate locations such as the Food Lion parking lot, other businesses, the police department or Municipal Building parking lots. Another option would be to lease space in the recently opened Junction 245 marketplace in the former Hermetite-Mundet building.
The proposed new rules stipulate that no more than 30 percent of a house can be utilized for a home occupation, limits the number of nonresident employees on premises and requires off-street parking for them and prohibits merchandise and other supplies from being stored outside.
Home occupations, according to the proposed text, “shall not introduce to a property or neighborhood noise, dust, odors, glare, vibrations or other hazards or nuisances that are detrimental to surrounding properties or exceed conditions typical of a residential neighborhood.”
Existing home occupations that are noncompliant with the proposed new rules would be grandfathered and allowed to continue as long as they were compliant when their business licenses were originally issued.
There is a process for applying for a special exception permit to be exempted from specific rules under certain circumstances. The office of community development is responsible for enforcing the zoning rules. Appeals of the zoning administrator’s decisions can be appealed to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Only one citizen spoke at last week’s public hearing. Johnna Gittemeier, one of the Racy Acres residents, said the home-based business in her neighborhood should never have been granted a permit. She said the business generates a lot of traffic and is “disruptive” to the neighborhood. She said the traffic poses a danger to pedestrians as there are no sidewalks on the streets.
Council is expected to take action on the proposed zoning amendment at its next regular meeting on Feb. 12, when a second reading is scheduled.
