Laserfiche WebLink
Home Occupations <br />June 20,2001 <br />Page 2 <br />Stall i/.^liev ’cs that licensing of home occupations was introduced in 1984, since we have found no <br />apparcti* rf fcrcncc to such license in the code prior to the 1984 rccodification. The licensing <br />rcquireme’.i is in Section 5.40 and originally included only Subd’s. 1 & 2 w hich read as follows; <br />*‘Subd. 1. License Required. It is unlawful for any person to to engage in, <br />or carry on, a home occupation, as that term is defined in the Zoning Chapter of the City <br />Code, without first having obtained a license therefor from the City. <br />Subd. 2. Regulation. Licenses w ill only be issued if the specific use is permitted <br />or otherw ISC allow ed by the Zoning Chapter, and if all conditions set forth in said Chapter are fully <br />complied with." <br />Subd. 3 w'as added via Ord. #140, 2nd Series, on 8-28-95: <br />“Subd. 3. License Period. All licenses for home occupations shall expire on <br />September 30 of each year. Application for renewal of an existing home occupation license <br />shall be made to the City Clerk at least sixty (60) days prior to the c.xpiration date." <br />What Constitutes a Home Occupation? <br />A “Home Occupation" is an occupation that is customarily associated w ith the use of a dw elling. <br />Orono residents arc involved in a wide range of home based jccupations. some of w hich have <br />potential impacts on the surrounding neighborhood. Attachment A is a compilation of licensed and <br />unlicensed home occupations that we believe are currently occurring in Orono; many of the <br />unlicensed ones were found via the internet, and the list is probably not exhaustive. <br />Under the current ordinance language, home occupation licensing apparently is intended to apply not <br />only to those home-based businesses w hich arc highly visible, but also to such activities that merely <br />involve home computing, mail order, consulting, etc., i.c. activities which don't involve on-site <br />employees, customers visiting the site, excessive delivery trucks or any other visible signs of <br />business activity. There are probably many such low-key home occupations in Orono that go <br />unlicensed. Such businesses probably should not have to be licensed. In staffs opinion, tlic <br />businesses that should be required to be licensed are those w hich have the potential to be anno>ing <br />or inconveniencing to their neighbors. <br />Issue: Definition of“F.mployed Assistant** <br />\\ hile the Council has occasionally review ed the Home Occupation standards through the years, no <br />changes or revisions have occurred since the 1975 language was adopted. The most recent topic of <br />discussion, the employment of persons not residing in the dwelling, has resulted in Council <br />indicating to a small number of long-time Home Occupation licensees that licenses would not be <br />renewed this fall due to this ‘non-compliance ’. <br />The code docs not define “employed assistant”. Absent further clarification, the City has taken Lhc <br />language literally, that any person w ho docs not reside in the dw elling but is engaged in the licensed <br />home occupation, is an “employed assistant".