Buncombe County, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

Table 1, the Permitted Use Table in Sec. 78-641 of the Buncombe County Zoning Ordinance, lists every use allowed in the county's twelve zoning districts and marks each cell P for permitted by right, S for allowed only as a special use, SR for permitted with special requirements, or leaves the cell blank to mean the use is not permitted at all. The row for 'Motor vehicles maintenance and repair' is blank across R-LD (Low-Density Residential), R-1, R-2 and R-3, the county's four straight residential districts, so the use cannot be established there under any permit path, including as a home occupation.

The same row shows an S in the Neighborhood Service (NS) district, meaning a special use permit from the board of adjustment is required there, and a P in Commercial Service, Employment, Public Service, Conference Center/Resort, Airport Industry and Open Use districts, where the use is allowed by right. A resident who wants to fix cars for pay at home cannot qualify under the county's home occupation rules either, since a repair bay generating engine noise, exhaust fumes and vibration falls outside the residential districts' use table entirely.

Anyone wanting to operate a repair business needs a lot zoned NS or higher-intensity, plus, in NS, a special use permit under Sec. 78-676 through 78-678 that requires board of adjustment approval and site-specific conditions such as buffering, hours of operation, and traffic and parking review.