Resolution 508PLANNING COMMISSION
RESOLUTION NO. 508
A RESOLUTION TO THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMON DS RECOMMENDING
APPROVAL OF A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO SECTION 12.13.040(e) OF THE
ZONING ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE REGULATIONS GOVERNING HOME OCCUPATIONS
AND APPROVAL PROCEDURES (FILE #ZO-3-76)
WHEREAS, the Planning Commission of the City of Edmonds,
pursuant to proper notice and publication, held a public hearing on a
proposed amendment to the Official Zoning Ordinance, Section 12.13.040(e)
to amend the regulations governing home occupations and approval proce-
dures to permit the Planning Staff to approve home occupations with
appeals to the Board of Adjustment, and
WHEREAS, approvals of home occupation conditional use
permits are a routine predominately administrative function, and
WHEREAS, appeals of provisions of Section 12.13.040(e)
regulating a home occupation is very rarely exercised, and
WHEREAS, ample protection for the neighborhood or nearby
properties is readily available through the appeals procedure, and
WHEREAS, the review of a conditional use permit for a
home occupation requires an inordinate amount of time for the predomin-
antly administrative procedures before the Board of Adjustment, now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that the Planning Commission recommends
and forwards to the City Council of the City of Edmonds that the pro-
posed amendment to the Official Zoning Code to amend the approval
procedures and regulations of the home occupation section (12.13.040e)
of the Zoning Code, as stated in Exhibit "A" attached, be approved.
DATED this
FILE #ZO-3-76
Hearing: 4-28-76
Staff Initiated
EXHIBIT "A"
FILE #ZO-3-76
P.C. RES #508
PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO HOME -OCCUPATION SECTION 12.13.040 (e)
(to allow staff to issue home -occupation permits and changing other
provisions of the code as recommended by the Board of Adjustment
at the April 21st meeting).
12.13.040 Secondary uses in RS districts
(e) HOME -OCCUPATIONS: Intent: The home -occupation is a special use
allowing people to use their home for a low profile office or workshop
as long as such a business maintains the residential character of the
area and does not generate any more traffic than is normal for a single
residence in tie neighborhood nor gives the appearance of a commercial
enterprise.
1. Review Procedure:
(a) City Planner: Applications for a home -occupation which
do not involve outside storage of materials or equipment, nor machinery,
traffic or other conditions which may be incompatible in a residential
zone, will be processed by the City Planner according to Section 12.16.080
and 12.16.090. Appeal from a decision by the City Planner shall be made
to the Board of Adjustment within ten (10) days of the Planner's decision.
(b) Board of Adjustment: The Board shall hear all applications
for home -occupation involving conditions which the City Planner determines
may not be compatible in a residential zone such as unusual traffic and/or
vehicles, outside storage of materials, or machinery at a regular mee.tirig
of said Board and according to Sections 12.16.080 and 12.16.090.
The Board may, upon a vote of the majority of the Board at
a regular public hearing, request a review of home -occupation permits
issued by the City Planner.
2. All home -occupations shall comply with the following regulations:
(a) Area Used: The occupation shall be conducted entirely
within the principal building or other accessory structures.
(b) Employment: The employment of any persons other than a
member of the immediate family residing on the premises is prohibited for
those enterprises conducted primarily on the premises. Builders, caterers,
painters, and similar persons using their home or apartment primarily as an
office in conjunction with business activities conducted off the premises
may have other employees provided they are not employed on the premises,
they do not park on or near the residential dwelling site, and they are
not required to visit the site during the course of business.
(c) Equipment Use: Mechanical equipment can be used provided
it is compatible with a residential environment.
(d) Educational or Instructional occupations, such as a musical
instruction, are limited to one (1) pupil at a time.
Proposed Amer 2nt to liome-Oc(7upation Section
Pane 2
(e) General Regulations: No commodities shall be sold on
the premises except instructional materials pertinent to the home -
occupation (i.e.,music books). The display of commodities outside
the premises or in a window is prohibited, nor shall the home -occupation
require purchasers, or prospective purchasers, to visit the site to
view the merchandise. No objectionable amount of dust, odor, smoke,
or noise shall be permitted.
(f) Signs: A sign is permitted provided it does not exceed
three (3) square feet in size and is unlighted. It shall contain only
the name and/or address of the residents.
(g) Other criteria far board action: The following conditions;
may justify a denial by the board of a conditional use permit.for a home
occupation:
(1) The on -street or on -site parking of trucks or other
types of equipment associated with the home occupation.'.
(2) The presence of materials stored outside the residen-'�,:
tial structure and used in conjunction with the pro
posed home occupation.
(3) The littered, unkempt, and otherwise poorly maintained,?",,I
condition of the dwelling site.
(h) AP.Leal by Adjoining Residents: Three (3) months after the
granting of a conditional use permit; a joining residents may initiate a
hearina before the board to consider the revocation of the permit if they
consider the home occupation to be a neighborhood nuisance. This complaint -
action is initiated by petition signed by three (3) residents in the imme-
diate neighborhood of the subject property and accoi;ipanied by the conditional
use permit fee. The petition shall explain the conditions upon which the
home occupation is considered a nuisance.
Upon the public hearing called in the manner as the original-,.':.
application, the permit may be revoked if the board finds the use to be a
nuisance, deleterious to the neighborhood or inconsistent with the expressed,`
purposes of "RS" classified property.
EXHIBIT "A"
P.C. RES #508
ZO- 3- 76