Lacey, WA Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)

Chapter 16.69 LMC sets two tiers for a home occupation in the City of Lacey. Under LMC 16.69.040(A), a home occupation is permitted as a matter of right in any residential district if four conditions hold: no exterior structural alterations, no merchandise or stock in trade sold or displayed on any exterior portion of the premises, no equipment or material stored, altered or repaired on any exterior portion of the premises, and no person employed other than bona fide residents of the dwelling unit. Under LMC 16.69.040(B), a home occupation that fails any of those conditions requires a conditional use permit.

The traffic rule sits in LMC 16.69.050(B), which applies to the second tier. Subsection (B)(2) says traffic generated by home occupations shall not exceed two commercial vehicles per week, and that parking of customers' or clients' vehicles shall create no hazard or unusual congestion. Subsection (B)(3) adds that off-street parking spaces shall not be reduced in size or number below the minimum required in the district, nor used for any purpose other than parking. The cap is written in commercial vehicles, not client visits, and the chapter prints no per-day or per-hour visitor count.

Subsection A of LMC 16.69.050 reaches every home occupation: it shall emit no noise, air pollutants, waste products or other effects detrimental to the environment or the neighborhood beyond those normally emanating from residential use. Size comes from LMC 16.69.030(A): twenty-five percent of the total floor area of the residence, and in no event more than four hundred square feet. Vehicle repair, alteration or rebuilding is not permitted as a home occupation (LMC 16.69.030(D)). Every home occupation must register as a business under Chapter 5.12 LMC and is subject to the business and occupation tax levied by Chapter 3.02 LMC (LMC 16.69.030(E)). Under LMC 16.69.020, a garage sale and a family day care home are not home occupations.