Whatcom County, WA Home Business: Customer Traffic Restrictions (2026)

WCC § 20.80.970 regulates client traffic separately for each of the four home-based business tiers. Type I businesses, capped at 500 to 1,250 square feet depending on zoning district, may see only one client on the premises at any one time and no more than five clients in a single day, generating no more than five business-related trips per day; visits are barred before 7:00 a.m. and after 8:00 p.m. unless the director grants an exception. Type II businesses, which require at least a one-acre parcel, double those figures to 10 clients per day and 10 trips per day, keeping the same one-at-a-time limit and the same 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. visiting window.

Type III businesses, which need at least five acres, allow up to 20 clients and 20 trips per day under the same hourly restriction. Type IV home-based businesses, covering event facilities such as wedding receptions and seminars on parcels of at least 10 acres, are exempt from the Type I through III client and trip caps entirely; instead they are capped at 300 guests per event, a maximum of 36 events per year, and events must run between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. All tiers must also keep any parking generated on-site under WCC § 20.80.500, and every home occupation remains subject to the subsection (4) general standard that its impacts stay clearly incidental to the residential use of the property.