Town of Phelps

HOME BUSINESS LAW NOT AS STRICT AS SOME OTHERS:

The town's proposed law regulating home-based businesses is much more broad and liberal than those in at least two nearby municipalities.

The towns of Geneva and Manchester both have zoning laws governing home occupations, or businesses run out of the home, but under those laws, businesses must conform to much stricter regulations. Like Phelps, the other towns enacted the laws to promote entrepreneurial spirit while controlling development in residential areas.

“In this time of changing employment opportunities, more people are working from their homes,” said Bill McAdoo, code enforcement officer for the town of Geneva. “So it makes sense to make laws that will expand the tax base while protecting the character of the surrounding neighborhood.”

In the past year and a half, Phelps has modified its law, which was passed in July 2005 but never enacted, making it more broad in an effort to calm residents who were upset over the idea of having too many restrictions placed on their businesses. The board tabled a vote on adopting the newly modified version Monday after residents said that they didn't know enough about it.
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Under the proposed law, an on-premises business is defined as an occupation, profession or trade conducted within an approved residential dwelling and/or accessory structures on the homeowner's property. Since on-premises businesses are meant to be in residential or residential agricultural zones, the business must be subordinate to the principal use of the property, which is either housing or farming. Businesses operating in areas zoned residential and residential agricultural are technically illegal, he said, and the law is an effort to bring them into the fold.

The law would place a number of baseline restrictions on home businesses, such as limiting the number of employees to five and requiring larger businesses to hide outdoor equipment and inventory behind fences, but the planning board is willing to work with business owners.

“We take each application and let it stand on its own,” Springer said.

On-premises businesses must be in compliance with local, state and federal codes before permits are issued.

Both Geneva and Manchester place limits on the amount of floor space allowable for a business. In Geneva, which passed its home occupation law in 1969, the business can only take up 25 percent of the home while use of accessory structures like sheds or garages are prohibited.
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Manchester, which included home occupations in its 1986 code, is slightly more generous, allowing for 30 percent usage of the dwelling and up to 40 percent use of space in an accessory structure. Any more than 40 percent requires a commercial zone designation.

In the Phelps law, there are no such restrictions.

Phelps is also more lenient when it comes to issuing permits for on-premises businesses. Prospective business owners must fill out an application with the town code enforcement officer and pay a $25 fee. These applications are then reviewed by the Planning Board and, if approved, the permit is permanent.