Cotati Municipal Code Page 1/2
The Cotati Municipal Code is current through Ordinance 926, passed July 9, 2024.
Attachment 3
17.42.080 Home occupations.
The following standards for home occupations are intended to provide reasonable opportunities for employment within the home, while avoiding changes to the residential character of a dwelling that accommodates a home occupation, or the surrounding neighborhood, where allowed by Chapter 17.22 (Allowable Land Uses) of this title:
A. Business License Required. A home occupation shall require a city business license.
B. Limitations on Use. The following are examples of business activities that may be approved as home occupations, and uses that are prohibited as home occupations:
1. Uses Allowed as Home Occupations. The following and other uses determined by the director to be similar may be approved by the director in compliance with this section:
a. Art and craft work (ceramics, painting, photography, sculpture, etc.); b. Office-only uses, including an office for an architect, attorney, consultant, counselor, doctor, insurance agent, planner, tutor, writer, and electronic commerce; c. Personal trainers and licensed massage therapy and physical therapy; and d. Tailors, sewing.
2. Uses Prohibited as Home Occupations. The following are examples of business activities that are not incidental to or compatible with residential activities, and are, therefore, prohibited as home occupations:
a. Adult entertainment activities/businesses;
b. Animal hospitals and boarding facilities;
c. Auto and other vehicle sales, repair and service (body or mechanical), painting, storage, or upholstery, or the repair, reconditioning, servicing, or manufacture of any vehicle engine, or of any motor vehicle, including automobiles, boats, motorcycles, or trucks;
d. Commercial cabinet or furniture making, and similar uses; e. Contractor’s and other storage yards;
f. Dismantling, junk, or scrap yards;
g. Fitness/health facilities, except those allowed under subsection (B)(1) of this section; h. Medical clinics and laboratories;
i. On-site sales, except that mail order businesses may be allowed where there is no stock-in-trade on the site;
j. Personal services as defined in Article 9 (Glossary), except those allowed under subsection (B)(1) of this section;
k. Transportation services, including ambulance, taxi, limousine, tow truck, etc.; l. Uses which require explosives or highly combustible or toxic materials; m. Welding and machine shop operations;
n. Wood cutting businesses; or
Cotati Municipal Code Page 2/2
The Cotati Municipal Code is current through Ordinance 926, passed July 9, 2024. o. Other use the director determines to be similar to those listed above.
C. Operating Standards. Home occupations shall comply with all of the following operating standards:
1. Accessory Use. The home occupation shall be clearly secondary to the full-time use of the property as a residence.
2. Location of Home Occupation Activities.
a. RR Zoning District. Allowed home occupation activities may be conducted within an approved accessory structure in the RR zoning district, provided that at least two covered parking spaces are continually maintained.
b. Other Zones. All home occupation activities shall be confined completely to one room within the primary dwelling, which shall not occupy more than twenty-five percent of the gross floor area of the ground level floor. Garages or other enclosed accessory structures shall not be used for home occupation purposes, except for the storage of incidental office supplies, and only if two covered parking spaces are continually maintained. Horticulture activities may be conducted outdoors, but only within the rear one-third of the site.
3. Visibility. The use shall not require any exterior modification to the structure not customarily found in a dwelling, nor shall the home occupation activity be visible from a public right-of-way, or from neighboring residential properties.
4. Signs. There shall be no signs, other than one name plate, not exceeding one square foot in area, and only if attached flush to a wall of the structure.
5. Safety. Activities conducted and equipment or material used shall not change the fire safety or occupancy classifications of the premises. The use shall not employ the storage of explosive, flammable, or hazardous materials beyond those normally associated with a residential use.
6. Off-Site Effects. No home occupation activity shall create dust, electrical interference, fumes, gas, glare, light, noise, odor, smoke, toxic/hazardous materials, vibration, or other hazards or nuisances as determined by the director.
7. Outdoor Display or Storage. There shall be no window display or outdoor storage or display of equipment, materials, or supplies associated with the home occupation.
8. Employees. A home occupation shall have no on-site employees other than full-time residents of the dwelling.
9. Client/Customer Visits. The home occupation shall be operated so as to not require more than twelve vehicle trips per day of clients, customers, and/or visitors to the residence. On-site presence of clients or customers shall be limited to one client or family at a time, and only between the hours of nine a.m. and eight p.m.
10. Deliveries. The home occupation shall not involve the use of commercial vehicles for delivery of materials to or from the premises in a manner different from normal residential usage, except for FedEx, UPS, or USPS-type home pick-ups and deliveries.
11. Motor Vehicles. The motor vehicles used or kept on the premises, except residents’ passenger vehicles, shall comply with the requirements of Section 17.36.130 (Commercial vehicles on private property) of this title.
12. Utility Service Modifications. No utility service to the dwelling shall be modified solely to accommodate a home occupation, other than as required for normal residential use. (Ord. 766 § 2 Exh. A (part), 2004).