Thousand Oaks Customer Traffic Restrictions Rules (2026): What You Need to Know

Thousand Oaks Municipal Code Section 9-4.2518 sets an explicit daily cap on customer and client visits to residences operating under a Home Occupation Permit. For general home occupations, no more than four visitors or customers per day are permitted, and all such visits must occur between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM. This hard numerical limit distinguishes Thousand Oaks from jurisdictions that use only a vague reasonableness standard — the four-per-day cap provides a clear, enforceable benchmark. The restriction applies to any person coming to the residence for business purposes, including clients, customers, patients, and business contacts who visit for meetings or transactions.

In-home tutoring and instruction activities are subject to a modified sub-limit. A tutor or instructor may have up to two students present at a time, and the allowable hours are slightly extended to 7:00 AM through 9:00 PM. Additionally, one group instruction session involving up to eight students is permitted per week. Outside of this narrow group-session allowance, the per-day visitor cap still applies. Music teachers, language tutors, academic coaches, fitness trainers, and similar in-person service providers must structure their schedules to remain within these limits; exceeding them — for example, by holding back-to-back individual sessions throughout the day — will generate traffic inconsistent with the home occupation permit conditions and may trigger a Code Compliance review.

Delivery and freight traffic is evaluated under the same standard of compatibility with the residential neighborhood. Routine receipt of business supplies and materials through standard carriers such as UPS, FedEx, or USPS is generally acceptable provided the frequency and volume are consistent with a household rather than a commercial storage or distribution point. Scheduled daily freight pickups, repeated same-day deliveries, or any commercial-scale loading and unloading activity that creates a noticeable operational pattern at the curb is inconsistent with home occupation standards. Permit-holders who require regular high-volume deliveries should investigate commercial or light-industrial locations. Inquiries regarding home occupation visitor traffic and complaints may be directed to the Thousand Oaks Community Development Department at (805) 449-2390.