City Of St. Louis Park: Rules Changed For Home-Based Businesses

Press release from the City of St. Louis Park:

October 23, 2021

Recently, the City of St. Louis Park changed its ordinance for home occupations (commonly known as home-based businesses) to allow more uses. Under the amended ordinance, home occupations now allow:

• Barbers and hairdressers
• One outside employee who doesn’t live at the property
• Occupying up to 25% of the dwelling, up from previous limit of 10%
• Use of equipment that doesn’t cause a nuisance violation
• Product sales, if products are shipped to and from the premises, sales occur off-site, customers visit the home by appointment only, or products are sold at a garage sale* on the property

Some do’s and don’ts for home occupations:

• Don’t change the character of the property, or allow the home occupation to be apparent from the street or alley
• Don’t use a garage or accessory building for the home occupation
• Don’t allow employees to come to the property to be dispatched to other locations or to pick up and drop off materials and equipment
• Do meet all fire and building codes, as well as other city, county, state or federal regulations
• Do store all material and equipment within the home
• Do limit signs identifying the home occupation to only one, non-illuminated wall sign up to 2 square feet
• Do fill out a registration of land use application, if the home occupation has customers, students or an employee coming to the site. Visit the permits webpage and click on “additional permits/applications” to open a dropdown menu with a link for the application. Completed applications can be emailed to inspections@stlouispark.org.
• Do call city planning and zoning staff with questions: 952.924.2575

The home occupation ordinance continues to prohibit the following activities: auto body/painting; motor vehicle sales; motor vehicle service and repair; small engine repair; massage; medical/dental office; businesses treating animals such as boarding or grooming; restaurant; firearm sales; currency exchange; payday loan agency or sexually oriented businesses.

*Up to two garage sales are allowed per calendar year for up to 72 consecutive hours each.

This press release was produced by the City of St. Louis Park. The views expressed here are the author’s own.