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Home Occupation

HOME OCCUPATION is a provision in the Oakland Zoning regulations (Section 17-112), defined therein as follows:

"A Home Occupation is an accessory activity of a non-residential nature which is performed within a living unit, or within a garage attached thereto and reserved therefor, by an occupant of the living unit and which is customarily incidental to the Residential use of the living unit. A home occupation may include, but is not limited to , the handicraft manufacture of products, the conduct of an art or profession, the offering of a service, or the conduct of a business, subject to the provisions of Sections 17.112.030, 17.112.040, 17.112.050, and 17.112.060. (Prior planning code § 7301)"

This provision allows anyone to obtain a permit to work at home, as long as they don't have employees or walk-in trade, create noises or odors perceivable beyond their property, or generate traffic beyond that normally occurring in the underlying zone. Unlike other cities, home occupation work activities are not limited in area to a small proportion of the residence. Numerous new construction "live/work" projects have been built in Oakland under home occupation using the residential (not live/work) building code.

The entire text of Section 17.112 is provided below for your reference.

Title 17 PLANNING

Chapter 17.112 HOME OCCUPATION REGULATIONS


17.112.010 Title, purpose, and applicability.

The provisions of this chapter shall be known as the home occupation regulations. The purpose of these regulations is to prescribe the conditions under which limited nonresidential activities may be conducted when incidental to Residential Activities. These regulations shall apply to all activities of a nonresidential nature which are incidental to Residential Activities when such nonresidential activities would not be allowed if they were not incidental to Residential Activities. (Prior planning code § 7300)

17.112.020 Definition of home occupation.

A "home occupation" is an accessory activity of a nonresidential nature which is performed within a living unit, or within a garage attached thereto and reserved therefor, by an occupant of the living unit and which is customarily incidental to the residential use of the living unit. A home occupation may include, but is not limited to, the handicraft manufacture of products, the conduct of an art or profession, the offering of a service, or the conduct of a business, subject to the provisions of Sections 17.112.030, 17.112.040, 17.112.050, and 17.112.060. (Prior planning code § 7301)

17.112.030 Exclusions.

The following activities shall not in any case qualify as home occupations:
A. Introductory service;

B. Teaching of organized classes totaling more than six persons at a time;

C. Accommodation of more than three paying guests within a One-Family Dwelling Residential Facility, or of any number of paying guests within a dwelling unit in any other type of Residential Facility;

D. Operation of a beauty parlor with more than two hairdrying machines;

E. Maintenance of a construction contractor's storage or construction yard or garage;

F. Care, treatment, or boarding of animals for profit. (Prior planning code § 7302)

Chapter 17.112 HOME OCCUPATION REGULATIONS


17.112.040 Requirements.

A. Location. A home occupation shall only be performed within a living unit by a resident thereof, or within a garage which is attached to, and reserved for, such living unit. When conducted within a garage the doors thereof shall be closed.

B. Employees. No person other than a resident of the living unit shall be employed in the conduct of the home occupation, except that practitioners in the medical arts may employ one assistant who does not reside in the living unit.

C. Articles Sold. Articles offered for sale shall be limited to those produced on the premises, except where the home occupation serves as an agent or intermediary between off-site suppliers and off-site customers, in which case all articles, except for samples, shall be received, stored, and sold directly to customers at off-premises locations.

D. Exterior Appearance and Signs. There shall be no outside or window display of materials or products. No outside or window Sign shall advertise or otherwise identify the home occupation except for one Sign with a display surface of not more than one square foot on any face. Such Sign shall be nonmoving, and its illumination, if any, shall be indirect and nonflashing. There shall be no other exterior indication of the home occupation, and no impairment of the residential appearance of the facilities within which the home occupation is conducted.

E. Vehicular Storage. No commercial or passenger vehicle carrying any Sign advertising or otherwise identifying the home occupation shall be parked on any portion of the lot where such Sign is visible at any lot line of the lot containing the home occupation.

F. Traffic Generation. The home occupation shall not generate pedestrian or vehicular traffic substantially greater than that normally generated by Residential Activities in the surrounding area.

G. Nuisances. The home occupation shall be so conducted as not to cause offensive or objectionable noise, vibration, smoke, odors, humidity, heat, cold, glare, dust, dirt, or electrical disturbance which is perceptible by the average person at or beyond any lot line of the lot containing the home occupation. (Prior planning code § 7303)


17.112.050 Required approval.

No home occupation shall be permitted unless the Director of City Planning certifies that it will conform to the home occupation regulations. The Director may fix a termination date upon a home occupation in order to effect a periodic review thereof. The Director's determination shall be subject to appeal pursuant to the administrative appeal procedure in Chapter 17.132. (Prior planning code § 7304)

In the event of a failure to comply with these regulations, the Director of City Planning may, after holding a public hearing, revoke his or her certificate of approval of a home occupation. Notice of the hearing shall be given by posting notices thereof within three hundred (300) feet of the property involved. Notice of the hearing shall also be given by mail or delivery to the certificate holder, to all parties who have commented on the initial application, and to other interested parties as deemed appropriate. All such notices shall be given not less than ten days prior to the date set for the hearing. Such revocation may be appealed pursuant to the administrative appeal procedure in Chapter 17.132. (Ord. 12237 § 4 (part), 2000: prior planning code § 7305)