Part 20.30N Home Occupation Permit
20.30N.110 Scope.
This Part 20.30N establishes the procedure and criteria that the City will use in making a decision upon an application for a Home Occupation Permit.
20.30N.115 Applicability.
A Home Occupation Permit is required for any occupation or profession carried on in a dwelling unit, subject to the following exceptions. The requirements of this section are not applicable to: 1) businesses which have no external indication of commercial activity, including no nonresident employees, no client visits, no business‑related deliveries, and no vehicle signage; and 2) family child care homes located in a residence (see LUC 20.20.170.C). (Ord. 5089, 8-3-98, § 35)
20.30N.120 Purpose.
A Home Occupation Permit is a mechanism by which the City may permit a business to be conducted in a dwelling by a resident of that dwelling. The business must be largely incidental to use of the premises as a dwelling. In a nonresidential land use district either a Home Occupation Permit must be obtained or all commercial development standards must be met. (Ord. 5089, 8-3-98, § 36; Ord. 4255, 6-3-91, § 14; Ord. 4086, 11-27-89, § 4)
20.30N.125 Who may apply.
A resident of the dwelling may apply for a Home Occupation Permit.
20.30N.140 Decision criteria.
A. The Director of Planning and Community Development may approve or modify and approve a Home Occupation Permit if the following decision criteria are met:
1. The business does not involve automobile related services, warehousing of more than 1,000 cubic feet of materials, or external storage of goods; and
2. The business is conducted wholly within a structure and utilizes no more than 25 percent of the gross floor area of the structure in which it is located; and
3. No more than one person who is not a resident of the dwelling is participating in the business at the dwelling; and
4. There is no exterior display, exterior alteration of the property, including expansion of parking, no exterior sign other than business signage on the applicant’s vehicle, no exterior storage of materials or other exterior indication of the business; and
5. There is no variation from the residential character of the premises; and
6. There is no structural alteration to the interior or exterior of the structure which changes its residential character; and
7. There is no use of electrical or mechanical equipment which would change the fire rating of the structure or which would create visible or audible interference in radio or television receivers or which would cause fluctuations in line voltage outside the dwelling; and
8. There is no noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odor, heat or glare produced by the business which would exceed that normally associated with a dwelling; and
9. In addition to parking required for the residents, there are no more than two vehicles parked on or in the vicinity of the property as a result of the business at any one time; and
10. There are no more than six client visits per day and there is not more than one client on the premises at any one time. One client does include a family arriving in a single vehicle; and
11. There are no more than two deliveries per week either to or from the residence by a private delivery service and no other use of a commercial vehicle other than that normally used by the applicant or an employee; and
12. If deemed necessary, the business has been inspected by the Bellevue Fire Department and the applicant commits to implement all required corrective measures within the stated time period.
B. In approving, conditioning or denying an application for a Home Occupation Permit, the City may consider, in addition to the criteria in paragraph A of this section, the following:
1. The location of the proposed home occupation in relation to traffic impacts and safety concerns to the adjacent neighborhood; and
2. The impacts the proposed home occupation may have on the residential character of the neighborhood; and
3. The cumulative impacts of the proposed home occupation in relation to other City-approved home occupations in the immediate vicinity; and
4. The imposition of a condition under which the City reserves the right to impose additional conditions or to reconsider the home occupation within a certain timeframe from approval date, based on complaints filed with the City. (Ord. 5089, 8-3-98, § 39; Ord. 4654, 6-6-94, § 62; Ord. 4255, 6-3-91, § 14; Ord. 4086, 11-27-89, § 6)
20.30N.145 Conditions.
The Director of Planning and Community Development may impose conditions to mitigate any potential adverse impact on surrounding uses. (Ord. 4654, 6-6-94, § 63)
20.30N.150 Time limitation.
The Director of Planning and Community Development may establish a time limitation on the effectiveness of a Home Occupation Permit in order to provide for periodic review of business activity in a dwelling. (Ord. 4654, 6-6-94, § 64)
20.30N.155 Quarterly report.
The Director of Planning and Community Development shall send a report listing all Home Occupation Permits by number and address and describing the status of each, at least quarterly, to:
A. Each person who has requested public notices for the calendar year and who has paid the fee established by the Director of Planning and Community Development, and
B. Each member of a Community Council. (Ord. 4654, 6-6-94, § 65)
20.30N.160 Revocation of Home Occupation Permit.
Upon determination that there has been a violation of any decision criteria or condition of approval, the Director of Planning and Community Development may give written notice to the permit holder describing the alleged violation. Within 14 days of the mailing of notice of violation, the permit holder shall show cause why the permit should not be revoked. At the end of the 14-day period, the Director shall sustain or revoke the permit. When a Home Occupation Permit is revoked, the Director shall notify the permit holder by certified mail of the revocation and the findings upon which revocation is based. Appeals of decisions to revoke a Home Occupation Permit will be processed using the Process II appeal procedures, LUC 20.35.250. (Ord. 4978, 3-17-97, § 3; Ord. 4654, 6-6-94, § 66)
20.30N.165 Assurance device.
In appropriate circumstances, the Director of Planning and Community Development may require a reasonable performance or maintenance assurance device in conformance with LUC 20.40.490 to assure compliance with the provisions of the Land Use Code and the Home Occupation Permit as approved. (Ord. 4654, 6-6-94, § 67)