Ankeny, IA Home Business: Signage Rules (2026)

Ankeny's Zoning Ordinance lists a home occupation as a permitted accessory use in the R-2 One-Family and Two-Family Residence District, carried into the R-3 Multiple-Family Residence District by R-3's cross-reference to 'accessory uses permitted in and as limited in the R-2 District.' Section 192.04(2)(B) sets four conditions: the business must be conducted entirely inside the dwelling by resident family members and confined to half the floor area of one floor; it must show no exterior indication of the business; it cannot use mechanical equipment uncommon in dwellings or create noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odors, heat, or glare detrimental to the neighborhood; and it cannot substantially increase neighborhood traffic.

The definitions chapter reinforces the sign ban, defining 'home occupation' at § 190.03(49) as an occupation 'clearly secondary to the main use of the premises as a dwelling' that does 'not change the character thereof or have any exterior evidence of such secondary use.' Read together, the sections amount to an absolute ban on business signage: no yard sign, no window sign, no illuminated sign, and no professional shingle visible from the street. The R-1 One-Family Residence District has no matching clause; R-1's accessory-use list under § 192.03(2) permits only child day care for six or fewer children and signs regulated under Chapter 195, so a client-facing home business with signage is not an R-1 accessory use at all. The Planning and Building Department, through the Zoning Administrator, reviews accessory-use compliance and can order an unlawful sign removed.