In my April post, I highlighted a brief article about Home-Based Businesses (HBB). HBBs are far more prevalent than I think most people realize. For example, a team of researchers claim that one in six businesses in 2014 is an HBB. Since COVID, I suspect that number has increased. Indeed, our own data validates this.
This begs a few
questions. How do we regulate HBBs so it
will not disrupt a neighborhood; how do we encourage the formation of more
HBBs; how do we determine appropriate criteria for a HBB; and how do we build a
next generation framework.
Prince William County, VA
In Prince William County, VA
we issue three main types of home-based business identifications. The top two are:
- Home Employment Certificate
https://www.pwcva.gov/department/zoning-administration/home-employment-certificate - Home Occupation Certificate
- Office
https://www.pwcva.gov/department/zoning-administration/home-occupation-certificate-office-within-residence
The third is a Home
Occupation Certificate – Childcare.
https://www.pwcva.gov/department/zoning-administration/family-day-home-child-care-within-residence
This is the simplest
explanation to receive approval for a home-based business. You must first fill out the appropriate form,
and then meet with County zoning staff to receive approval. If your home-based business is approved, you must
then get a Business and Professional Occupational License (BPOL). It really is
a tax form.
Depending on what you are
doing in your home, you may be subject to additional ordinances and rules. That is why I included the links to each certificate.
Historical Perspective
If you enjoy a historical
perspective and concrete examples of what communities are doing, then you will enjoy
this paper. For this post, I refer you
to an excellent paper by Olivia Gonzalez and Nolan Gray. The title is “Zoning
for Opportunity: A Survey of Home-Based
Business Regulations”.
Link: https://www.thecgo.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/zoning-for-opportunity.pdf
