Lincoln County, SD Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)

Lincoln County Code § 154.243(I) caps client and customer traffic for minor home occupations, the no-permit tier of home-based business allowed under Ordinance 0904-05 (passed May 20, 2009): the occupation shall not generate more than four visits per day from clients or customers, averaged over a period of seven consecutive days. The seven-day averaging means an occasional busier day is tolerated as long as the weekly pace does not exceed four visits daily; a steady stream of five or more visits a day would push the business out of compliance.

Section 154.243(J) pairs with the visit cap by barring any additional off-street parking built for clients or customers, and § 154.243(N) limits deliveries to what a car, pickup, or typical delivery truck can bring so the business does not change the character of the area. A home-based business that needs more visitor traffic than the four-per-day minor-occupation limit allows must instead qualify as a major home occupation under § 154.244, which raises the ceiling considerably: Class 1 major occupations may draw up to ten client or customer visits per day, still averaged over seven consecutive days, but only after the Planning Commission grants a conditional use permit under § 154.245.

The traffic limits sit alongside the other minor-occupation conditions, no outside employees, no visible signage beyond a small nameplate, and no display of goods, that together keep a home business from operating like a storefront.