203.1The purpose of the home occupation provisions shall be to allow home occupations as accessory uses to residential uses; provided, that they are compatible with the residential neighborhood in which they are located. The intent is to protect residential areas from adverse effects of activities associated with home occupations, while permitting residents of the community the opportunity to use the home as a workplace and source of livelihood under specific regulatory conditions.
203.2For purposes of this section, a home occupation is a business, profession, or other economic activity conducted full-time or part-time in a dwelling unit that serves as the principal residence of the practitioner of the home occupation.
203.3Home occupations shall meet the following requirements:
(a) No person shall practice a home occupation without a Home Occupation Permit;(b) A Home Occupation Permit may be issued without a public hearing if the requirements of this subsection are met, or may be granted by the Board of Zoning Adjustment pursuant to § 203.10;(c) A Home Occupation Permit may be granted only to a designated person or group of persons who reside at a residential address; and(d) No Home Occupation Permit may be transferred from one person to another, or from one address to another.203.4A practitioner of a home occupation, and any owner of a dwelling unit in which a home occupation is practiced, shall comply with the requirements of §§ 203.5 and 203.6, and with the following conditions and requirements:
(a) A home occupation shall be clearly secondary to the use of a dwelling unit for residential purposes;(b) Except as provided in §§ 203.7(e)(2), (f), and (l) and § 203.8(d), no more than the larger of two hundred fifty square feet (250 sq. ft.) or twenty-five percent (25%) of the floor area of the dwelling, including the basement but excluding any accessory structure, shall be utilized in the home occupation; (d) Except as provided in §§ 203.7(a) and (e)(1), no more than one (1) person who is not a resident of the dwelling unit shall be engaged or employed in the home occupation;(e) The dwelling unit owner and the practitioner shall maintain the residential character and appearance of the dwelling unit and lot;(f) No interior structural alteration shall be permitted if it would make it difficult to return the premises to a use that is exclusively residential;(g) Neither the practitioner nor any other person shall conduct or allow any operations outside a structure, nor maintain or allow any storage or other unsightly condition outside a structure;(h) Neither the practitioner nor any other person shall use any equipment or process that creates visual or audible electrical interference in television or radio receivers outside the subject home, or that causes fluctuations in line voltage outside the subject home;(i) The use shall produce no noxious odors, vibrations, glare, or fumes that are detectable to normal sensory perception outside the subject home;(j) The use shall not produce a level of noise that exceeds the level normally associated with the category of dwelling or the immediate neighborhood;(k) No more than two (2) vehicles may be used in the practice of the home occupation;(l) Except for child development homes and expanded child development homes, vehicular trips to the premises by visitors, customers, and delivery persons shall not exceed eight (8) trips daily on a regular and continuing basis;(m) Except for expanded child development homes, the practitioner shall have no more than eight (8) clients or customers on the premises in any one (1) hour period; and(n) If more than one (1) home occupation is practiced in a dwelling unit, the cumulative impact of all such home occupations, considered as a whole, shall not exceed any of the standards set forth in paragraphs (a) through (m) of this subsection.203.5A sign on a dwelling or building in which a home occupation is practiced shall be permitted, subject to the following conditions:
(a) A person may display one (1) exterior sign on a dwelling or other building in which a home occupation is practiced;(b) The sign shall not exceed one hundred forty-four square inches (144 in.2) in area;(c) The sign shall be flush-mounted;(d) The sign shall not be illuminated;(e) The sign may state only the name of the practitioner and the type of home occupation;(f) The practitioner shall not display more than one (1) sign outside a dwelling or building; and(g) The practitioner shall not display any sign that does not meet the requirements of paragraphs (b) through (e) of this subsection.203.6Sales shall be permitted, subject to the following conditions:
(a) A practitioner may make sales by telephone;(b) A practitioner may perform and be paid for a service, even if the service results in the creation of a product;(c) During a twelve-month (12-month) period, as many as five (5) sales in the nature of yard sales, garage sales, or home sales parties may be held at a dwelling; and(d) During a twelve-month (12-month) period, a person with a home occupation permit may hold six (6) or more sales in the nature of yard sales, garage sales, or home sale parties at a dwelling, if approved by the Board of Zoning Adjustment pursuant to § 203.10.203.7The following uses shall be allowed as home occupations; provided, that the conditions specified in §§ 203.4 through 203.6 are met at the time of the establishment of the home occupation, and maintained on a continuing basis. The uses listed under this subsection shall include similar uses in each category:
(a) Child development home provided no more than two (2) persons who are not a resident of the dwelling unit shall be engaged or employed in the child development home;(b) Computer programming;(c) Cosmetologist, hair stylist, or barber;(d) Dressmaking, sewing, and tailoring;(e) Expanded child development home for between seven (7) and nine (9) individuals fifteen (15) years of age or less; provided: (1) No more than three (3) persons who are not a resident of the dwelling unit shall be engaged or employed; (2) A minimum of thirty-five square feet (35 sq. ft.) of floor area per individual is provided including the basement but excluding any accessory structure shall be utilized for the expanded child development home; and(2) No more than three hundred and twenty square feet (320 sq. ft.) of the floor area of the dwelling including the basement but excluding any accessory structure shall be utilized for the expanded child development home; (f) Expanded child development home for ten (10) to twelve (12) individuals fifteen (15) years of age less may be permitted as a special exception by the Board of Zoning Adjustment under § 3104 and subject to the provisions of § 203.10; provided a minimum of thirty-five square feet (35 sq. ft.) of floor area per individual is provided including the basement but excluding any accessory structure;(g) Home crafts, such as model-making, rug weaving, and lapidary work;(h) Home office of a businessperson, sales person, or manufacturer's representative; provided, that the dwelling is not used as a gathering point for workers who are on the way to another work site;(i) Home office of a physician or dentist; provided, that the physician or dentist may not also establish an accessory use pursuant to § 202;(j) Home office of a scientist, clergyman, inventor, academician, licensed health care professional other than one provided for in paragraph (k) of this subsection, or other professional person;(l) Painting, sculpturing, writing, composing, photography, or other fine arts occupations practiced by an individual in a home studio; provided, that no more than sixty percent (60%) of the floor area of the dwelling unit may be devoted to the studio;(m) Telephone answering service and sales by telephone;(n) Tutoring of not more than five (5) students at any one (1) time; and(o) Typing or word processing service.203.8An owner of a dwelling may operate a Bed and Breakfast facility, offering rooms and breakfast to guests on a daily basis; provided:
(a) The use shall not be permitted in a multiple dwelling;(b) Breakfast is the only meal served, and is served only to overnight guests;(c) The maximum number of sleeping rooms shall be two (2), except:(1) Pursuant to § 203.10(b), the maximum number of sleeping rooms may be increased to four (4); or, in a dwelling that is an historic landmark, or that is located in a historic district and certified by the State Historic Preservation Officer as contributing to the character of that historic district, the number of sleeping rooms may be increased to six (6); and(2) The number of sleeping rooms permitted as a matter of right or by special exception as set forth in this paragraph shall be reduced by one (1) for each person who rooms or boards in the dwelling pursuant to § 202.5;(d) The floor area limitations set forth in § 203.4(b) shall not apply to this use;(e) In addition to the required parking for the dwelling unit, one (1) parking space shall be provided for each two (2) sleeping rooms devoted to guest use;(f) No cooking facilities shall be permitted in any of the rented rooms;(g) The dwelling shall be owned and occupied as the principal residence of the operator(s); and(h) Except as provided in paragraph (d), the Bed and Breakfast facility shall comply with §§ 203.4 through 203.6.203.9Except as explicitly permitted by §§ 203.6 through 203.8, the following uses are prohibited as home occupations:
(a) Any retail service or other use specified in §§ 701.1, 701.4, 721.2, 721.3, 741.2, 741.3, 751.2(b), and 801.7; and(b) Any use prohibited in § 902.1.203.10A home occupation that is not permitted or prohibited in this section may be permitted as a special exception by the Board of Zoning Adjustment under § 3104; provided:
(a) The proposed use and related conditions shall be consistent with the purposes set forth in § 203.1 and shall generally comply with the requirements of §§ 203.4 through 203.8, subject to specific findings and conditions of the Board in each case;(b) An applicant for a home occupation that is permitted by §§ 203.6 through 203.8 may request the Board to modify no more than two (2) of the conditions enumerated in §§ 203.4 through 203.8; provided that the general purposes and intent of this section are complied with; (c) Except as provided in § 203.7(e)(1), in no case shall more than two (2) persons who are not residents of the subject home be permitted as employees of the home occupation, and those persons shall not be co-practitioners of the profession;(d) Any request to modify more than two (2) of the requirements found in §§ 203.4 through 203.8 shall be deemed a request for a variance. However, a person with a demonstrated physical disability may be permitted special consideration by the Board, and a request for more than two (2) modifications of the Home Occupation requirements shall be considered in this instance as a special exception governed by this subsection; and(e) In considering any request for approval under this subsection, the Board may impose conditions relating to operating conditions of the home occupation, parking, screening, or other requirements as it deems necessary to protect adjacent and nearby properties consistent with the general purpose and intent of this section.203.11If the Zoning Administrator determines that an application for a Home Occupation Permit appears to meet the conditions of §§ 203.4 through 203.8, but to be inconsistent with the general purpose and intent of this section, the Zoning Administrator may certify the application to be decided as an appeal by the applicant to the Board of Zoning Adjustment.
203.12In making the determination pursuant to § 203.11, the Zoning Administrator may consider, but not be limited to, the cumulative impact of one (1) or more home occupations.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 11, r. 11-203
Final Rulemaking published at 35 DCR 6916, 6918 (September 16, 1988); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 9741 (December 8, 2000), incorporating by reference the text of Proposed Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 8335, 8347-48 (October 20, 2000); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 63 DCR 1632 (2/12/2016)