Amherst, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

Home occupations in Amherst are split into two tiers under Zoning § 6-8-6. A Type 1 Home Occupation needs no approval but must be run entirely inside the dwelling, involve no outside storage, and be conducted only by residents, with no signage and no on-site retail sales or service to customers. A Type 2 Home Occupation may add one nonresident employee and one small identification sign, but only after the Zoning Board of Appeals grants a special use permit, which the Commissioner of Building then renews every two years on proof of continued compliance; the Commissioner may inspect the premises without prior notice during normal business hours.

Regardless of tier, § 6-8-6(D) lists activities that can never qualify as a home occupation at all, and automobile and/or body and fender repairing is first on that list, alongside greenhouses and commercial nurseries, food processing beyond simple home-kitchen catering, general manufacturing and repair uses, restaurants, and on-site animal boarding or training. A homeowner who wants to turn a garage into a repair shop cannot cure the problem by seeking Type 2 approval; the exclusion applies before the ZBA review stage is ever reached. The home occupation also cannot exceed 15 percent of the ground floor area of the principal structure and cannot be visible or audible from the street.