Sumner County, TN Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)

Zoning Resolution Sec. 1101(P)(2)(e) sets the customer-traffic ceiling for any home-based business approved in the 'minor' category, the by-right tier issued administratively by the Planning Director. No more than two customer or client visits may occur at the property in any one day, and no more than one customer or client vehicle may be present on the lot at any given time. The cap sits alongside the rest of the minor-business package in Sec. 1101(P)(2): one nonresident employee on site, a business-vehicle limit of one vehicle that cannot be parked in the front yard (with vehicles of more than three axles barred on lots under two acres), and no additional off-street parking required beyond what the residence already provides.

A business that needs more customer traffic than two visits a day does not qualify for the minor, by-right permit. It must instead seek approval as a 'major' home-based business through a Special Exception granted by the Board of Zoning Appeals, under the review criteria in Chapter 14 of the Zoning Resolution, which can set different or additional conditions case by case. The Resolution does not publish a fixed visit cap for the major category; it is set through that discretionary review.