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A revision of Buena Vista’s rules governing home occupations may be in the offing. The city’s director of community development, Tom Roberts, said staff is studying the regulations and will likely be bringing recommendations concerning proposed changes to City Council.
Roberts made those comments during this past Thursday’s City Council meeting after residents of the Racy Acres residential subdivision, for a second straight meeting, aired complaints about a retail business operating within their neighborhood.
The residents zeroed in on a section of the ordinance governing such businesses in residential districts that states, “The home occupation shall be operated only by the members of the family residing on the premises, and no article or service shall be sold or offered for sale except as may be produced by members of the family residing on the premises.”
They pointed out that the items being sold by the business in their neighborhood are not produced by members of the family residing at the house.
Does the business in question meet the definition of permissible home occupations, asked City Council member Todd Jones.
In the “plain reading of the ordinance,” Roberts responded, “No, it does not.” But, he added, the city has not been enforcing that provision of the ordinance. There are numerous home occupations operating in the city’s residential districts, he said, that are selling items that occupants of the home do not produce. If this provision were to suddenly be enforced, many home occupations would be “negatively impacted,” he added.
Staff is studying the ordinance and the issues that have been raised and will be returning with recommendations on revisions, said Roberts. “This is a policy we should review carefully.”
Most of the complaints that have been made to the city about the home occupation in Racy Acres have had to do with the traffic the business generates. Roberts referenced a section of the ordinance that states, “The home occupation shall not generate excessive traffic or produce obnoxious odors, glare, noise, vibration, electrical disturbance, radioactivity or other conditions detrimental to the character of the surrounding area, and in general, shall give no evidence of nonresidential character of use …” A traffic count has been conducted over a period of days in Racy Acres to determine how much traffic the business is generating, Roberts said. Staff is studying this data to help with making a determination as to whether the business is in compliance with the city’s regulations on home occupations. Roberts noted that “excessive traffic” is not defined in the ordinance.
According to Jones, Roberts appeared to be focusing more on the impact of the home occupation on neighbors, rather than the actual use. “We need to be more specific,” he said, “about what is allowed and what is not allowed.”
“Legitimate concerns have been raised about the traffic being generated by a home occupation,” said Roberts. “We can look at potential changes to home occupations [so the rules can be made] more clear. We do want to preserve residential neighborhoods and quality of life. [On the other hand,] we do have a lot of home businesses. We need to look at the potential impact on them.”
With so much commerce being conducted remotely from people’s homes these days, City Attorney Brian Kearney observed, “This is a good time to address this. Home occupations have changed dramatically.”
