Aliso Viejo, CA Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)

Section 15.14.150 of the Aliso Viejo Municipal Code sets the standards for home occupations in residential districts in the City of Aliso Viejo, Orange County, California. Subsection (B)(7) closes the door on customer traffic from two directions. First, no sales activity is allowed from the dwelling except mail order sales. Second, the dwelling unit cannot be the point of customer pickup or delivery of products or services, other than by mail or parcel service, and the home occupation cannot create greater vehicular or pedestrian traffic than normal for the district in which it is located. Subsection (B)(8) goes further and prohibits medical, dental, massage or other service occupations in which patrons are seen in the home, so a practice that sees patrons at the residence is not available as a home occupation in the City of Aliso Viejo.

Other standards in the same subsection keep visitors and vehicles out of the picture. Only residents of the dwelling unit may participate in the home occupation, which rules out employees arriving for a shift. Subsection (B)(4) bars signs, outdoor storage, parked vehicles and any other exterior evidence of the business, and the dwelling or lot cannot be altered so that it appears other than a residence. The activity must stay inside the enclosed living area or the garage, cannot use garage space required for off-street parking, and cannot occupy more than 15 percent of the combined floor area of the house and garage. Dust, noise and odors cannot exceed what is normally associated with residential use, and equipment that interferes with radio, television or telephone reception outside the dwelling is prohibited. The purpose clause in subsection (A) describes these uses as incidental and accessory, which is the test the whole list serves: the home keeps its principal residential character.