Chapel Hill, NC Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)

Chapel Hill's LUMO Appendix A home occupation standards address customer impact through several cumulative provisions: (1) 'No more than three (3) vehicles, in addition to vehicles owned by residents of the dwelling unit, may be parked at any one time on- or off-street for non-residential purposes,' excluding drop-offs and pick-ups; (2) arts-education home occupations (private music lessons, art instruction, academic tutoring) are expressly exempt from the 3-vehicle parking cap, recognizing that small lessons turn over guests rapidly; (3) on-premises retail sale of stock-in-trade is prohibited other than products produced by the home occupation itself (so a potter may sell pots made on-site, but a reseller may not run an in-home consignment store); (4) regular commercial pickups and deliveries are prohibited other than parcels of a size typical for household residential use (i.e., UPS/FedEx/USPS-sized packages are fine; freight, box trucks, and pallet deliveries are not); (5) no equipment may produce noise, vibration, odor, smoke, dust, electrical or magnetic interference, or glare detectable beyond the property line; (6) no outdoor storage or display of equipment or materials is permitted. Family Child Care Homes (NC FCCH) operate under separate NC state licensing through the NC Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) per NCGS § 110-86 and § 110-91 — up to 8 children total (no more than 5 preschool-age, including the operator's own preschoolers). LUMO home occupation parking and traffic standards are enforced by the Chapel Hill Planning Department.