HOME OCCUPATIONS.
Fresno Municipal Code § 15-2735
in effectSEC. 15-2735. - HOME OCCUPATIONS.
A. Purpose. The purpose of this section is to:
1. Permit home occupations as an accessory use in a dwelling unit;
2. Allow residents to operate small businesses in their homes, under certain specified standards, conditions, and criteria;
3. Allow for "telecommuting" and reduced vehicle use;
4. Ensure that home occupations are compatible with, and do not have an adverse effect on, adjacent and nearby residential properties and uses;
5. Ensure that public and private services, such as streets, sewers, water, or utility systems, are not burdened by the home occupation to the extent that usage exceeds that normally associated with a residential use; and
6. Preserve the livability of residential areas and the general welfare of the community.
B. Applicability. This section applies to all residential units and properties in the city regardless of their zoning designation. It does not apply to family day care homes, which are regulated separately in Section 15-2725, Day Care Centers and Family Child Care Homes.
C. Zoning Clearance Required, Not Transferable. A Zoning Clearance is required for each home occupation, pursuant to the provisions of Article 51, Zone Clearance. A Zoning Clearance to conduct a home occupation at a particular address is not transferable from one party to another, nor may the type of business be modified. A new Zoning Clearance must be obtained for each new home occupation.
D. Operational and Performance Standards. Home occupations must be located and operated consistent with the standards of this Code.
E. Residential Appearance. The residential appearance of the unit within which the home occupation is conducted shall be maintained, and no exterior indication of a home occupation is permitted.
1. Location. All home occupation activities shall be conducted entirely within the residential unit, or within a garage that is reserved for the residential unit. When conducted within a garage, the doors thereof shall be closed, and the area occupied shall not preclude the use of required parking spaces.
2. Structural Modification Limitation. No structural alterations shall be made to create features not customary in dwellings.
3. Maximum Size. The space exclusively devoted to the home occupation (including any associated storage) shall not exceed 25 percent of the residential unit floor area.
4. Employees. One employee or independent contractor other than residents of the dwelling may be permitted to work at the location of a home occupation. All work conducted by employees shall be conducted completely within the home or garage.
5. On-Site Client Contact. No customer or client visits are permitted except for personal instruction services (e.g., musical instruction or training, art lessons, academic tutoring). A total of eight clients and/or students per day may be permitted, however there may be no more than three clients/students at any one time. Clients/students hours of arrival and/or departure shall be staggered as to not disrupt the surrounding properties.
6. Employee/Client Parking.
a. Customers, clients, and/or employees shall park on-site. If the site cannot accommodate an on-site parking space for the lack of drive approach or parcel width, they may park off-site.
b. Parking required for customers/clients/employees may be tandem.
c. The home occupation shall not cause resident occupants to park their vehicles in other locations.
7. Hours. Employees, visitors, students, and/or clients are permitted between the hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
8. Direct Sales Prohibition. Home occupations involving the display or sale of products or merchandise are not permitted from the site except by mail, telephone, Internet, or other mode of electronic communication, unless permitted per Cottage Food Preparation as detailed below.
9. Storage. There shall be no storage of materials, supplies, and/or equipment in an accessory building, or outdoors. Storage may only occur within a garage if it does not occupy or obstruct any required parking space. Contractors whose work is conducted entirely off-site (and who use their home solely for administrative purposes related to the contracting business) may store construction, electrical, landscaping, plumbing, or similar supplies or materials within a single vehicle of one ton or less.
10. Traffic and Parking Generation. Home occupations shall not generate a volume of passenger or commercial traffic that is inconsistent with the normal level of traffic on the street on which the dwelling is located or which creates the need for additional parking spaces, or involve deliveries to or from the premises in excess of that which is customary for a dwelling unit. There shall be no deliveries and/or pick-ups from commercial vehicles, except those used by mail carriers.
11. Vehicles. Only one vehicle, owned by the operator of the home occupation, and not to exceed one ton in capacity, may be used by the operator in conjunction with the home occupation.
12. Commercial Vehicles and Attachments. Home occupations involving more than one commercial vehicle parked on-site shall not be permitted. No attachments of equipment or machinery used for business purposes shall be permitted either on the vehicle or on the site when the vehicles are not in use and such equipment or machinery is within view from the public right-of-way or neighboring properties. Storage of attachments of equipment and machinery or trailers are not permitted in areas visible from public rights-of-way or neighboring properties, unless part of an active approved construction project on the site.
13. Equipment. Home occupations, which involve mechanical or electrical equipment which is not customarily incidental to domestic use shall not be permitted. Facsimile machines, copy machines, computers, and other similar business equipment are permitted. Small power tools and similar equipment/machinery not exceeding two horsepower are also permitted. Commercial kitchens are prohibited.
14. Cottage Food Preparation. Cottage Food Preparation is permitted subject to compliance with Government Code 51035 and Health and Safety Code 113758. Food preparation and storage shall be done within the primary residence. There shall be no outdoor storage of material while all activities must occur within the primary residence, not including the garage and/or accessory buildings.
15. Hazardous Materials. Activities conducted and equipment or materials used shall not change the fire safety or occupancy classifications of the premises, nor use utilities different from those normally provided for residential use. There shall be no storage or use of toxic or hazardous materials other than the types and quantities customarily found in connection with a dwelling unit.
16. Nuisances. A home occupation shall be conducted such that no offensive or objectionable noise, dust, vibration, smell, smoke, heat, humidity, glare, refuse, radiation, electrical disturbance, interference with the transmission of communications, interference with radio or television reception, or other hazard or nuisance is perceptible at or beyond any lot line of the unit or structure within which the home occupation is conducted, or outside the dwelling unit if conducted in other than a single-unit detached residence.
F. Multiple Home Occupations. Only one home occupation per home is permitted.
G. Signage. Signs for Home Occupation uses may be erected subject to the following standards:
1. Quantity. A maximum of one sign is permitted.
2. Type. A wall or window sign is permitted. Freestanding signs of any type shall not be permitted.
3. Size. Shall not exceed two square feet in area.
4. Design. Signs shall be visually compatible with the building and surrounding neighborhood.
5. Illumination. Illuminated signage is not permitted.
H. Prohibited Home Occupations. The following specific businesses are not permitted as home occupations.
1. Adult-oriented business;
2. Ambulance services;
3. Automotive/vehicle repair, painting, body/fender work, upholstering, detailing, washing, including motorcycles, trucks, trailers, and boats;
4. Automotive/vehicle sales with any on-site storage or sale of vehicles;
5. Barber, beauty, nail salons, tattoo, body piercing. Shops with one station are excepted. Visits shall be by appointment;
6. Animal boarding, care, training, breeding, raising or grooming, or veterinary services, conducted on the premises;
7. Carpentry and cabinet-making businesses;
8. Commercial food preparation, food handling, processing, or packing other than Cottage Food Preparation as described above;
9. Firearms manufacture, sales, or repair;
10. Furniture refinishing or upholstery;
11. Gymnastic facilities;
12. Massage parlor;
13. Medical and dental offices, clinics, and laboratories, or any type of physical therapy, psychotherapy, or massage therapy;
14. Medical marijuana distribution;
15. Mini-storage;
16. Mortuaries;
17. Instructional services for more than three students at one time;
18. Pharmacies;
19. Print shops/Copy centers;
20. Recording studio (electronic composition, recording, and re-mixing conducted with headphones and using no amplification, live instruments or live performance excepted);
21. Repair, fix-it, or plumbing shops;
22. Restaurant;
23. Retail sales;
24. Tanning salon;
25. Towing service;
26. Welding, metal working, and machining businesses;
27. Yoga/spa retreat center; and
28. Any other use that the Director determines would be detrimental to the public health, safety, and general welfare or would be incompatible with nearby residential uses.
(Added Ord. 2015-39, § 1, eff. 1-9-16; Am. Ord. 2016-32, § 26, eff. 10-21-16; Am. Ord. 2025-024, § 62, eff. 7-27-25).
Source: City of Fresno, California, Municipal Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/ca/fresno/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=MUCOCHFRCA_CH15CIDECOINRE_PTIIIREAPSOALDI_ART27STSPUSAC_S15-2735HOOCFetched: 11/1/2026