Charlottesville, VA Business Licensing & Operations: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

17 lists activities that can never be deemed a home occupation no matter how small, and subsection e names 'motor vehicle sales, repair, equipment installation, and similar activities' outright. That flat prohibition means a resident cannot get an Accessory Use Permit to run a repair shop, install car stereos or aftermarket parts, or sell vehicles from a residential property in Charlottesville, regardless of how few customers visit or how quiet the equipment is. The code draws a narrower line for detailing rather than repair: subsection a permits auto detailing as a home occupation so long as no more than 2 vehicles being serviced are present on the property at any given time; a third vehicle on-site for detailing tips the operation into the prohibited category.

D rather than the Permitted Use Table, a would-be home mechanic cannot cure the problem with a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals either; the fix is to locate the business in a zoning district that permits Vehicle Repair or Service as a principal commercial use under the Vehicle Sale and Service Use Category, subject to that district's own site plan, parking and screening standards rather than the home occupation rules. Neighborhood Development Services screens Accessory Use Permit applications against this list before issuance, and a permit issued in error for a prohibited use does not immunize the operator from later enforcement.