Cathedral City, CA Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)

Cathedral City Municipal Code § 9.70.070 sets the operating standards a permitted home occupation must meet, and three of them control who comes and goes. Subsection (E) states there shall be no sales activity, either wholesale or retail, except mail order sales, nor shall there be an office open to the general public. Subsection (G) bars dispatching of persons, equipment or supplies to or from the subject property. Subsection (L) provides that the use shall not generate pedestrian or vehicular traffic beyond that normal to the zone in which it is located.

The permitted-use list in § 9.70.020 is written to match. Home occupations are limited to uses that are primarily office-oriented. An in-home office renders a service and does not involve the dispensation of goods or products. A salesperson, e-commerce business or online service qualifies only when all sales are conducted by telephone, internet or correspondence with no commodities or displays on the premises. Music instruction qualifies provided no more than one student is instructed at one time. Home child care is allowed as permitted by the zone district.

Other standards in § 9.70.070 keep the street looking residential. No one other than the resident can be employed on the premises. The building or lot cannot be altered, or the use conducted, so that it is reasonably recognizable as serving a nonresidential use by color, materials, construction, lighting, sounds or vibrations. Only one business vehicle under 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight is allowed, and no outdoor storage or display of merchandise is permitted. The city planner can add reasonable special conditions to the home occupation permit under subsection (M).

The home occupation permit comes from the city planner under § 9.70.050 and requires a city business license under § 9.70.040.