Buncombe County, NC Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)

Sec. 78-581's home occupation definition places two separate limits on customer and worker traffic beyond its floor-space and signage rules. First, staffing: no more than two persons not in residence on the premises can be employed in connection with the home occupation, so a business can bring in outside help, but only up to two non-resident employees; family members living in the home aren't counted against that cap. Second, traffic volume: no traffic can be generated by the home occupation in greater volumes than would normally be expected in a residential neighborhood, which means a steady stream of client visits, deliveries, or customer pickups that outpaces ordinary residential activity puts the business out of compliance, even if it otherwise fits inside the 25 percent floor-space limit and keeps its signage to the two-square-foot allowance.

The same clause also sets a parking rule: any parking the home occupation needs has to be located off the street, not on the shoulder or road right-of-way, and it can't be sited in a required front yard, so a business can't turn a front lawn into overflow customer parking. Because the standards live inside the definition itself rather than a separate permitting section, Sec. 78-665 confirms there's no additional home occupation permit process; compliance is judged against these same conditions whenever a complaint reaches the zoning administrator.