Abilene, TX Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

3. The stated purpose, under Sec. 1, is to let residents run home-based businesses without disturbing the comfortable enjoyment of neighboring properties. To qualify, Sec. 1; not every residential district allows every type of home business. The business must be run by people who live on the property, plus no more than one employee who does not reside there (subsection (2)). Subsection (3) caps the space: when operated inside the house, no more than 25 percent of the dwelling's floor area can be used for the business, and the use must stay clearly incidental and subordinate to the home's residential character.

A home occupation can instead be run out of a detached accessory building, capped at the same 25 percent of the dwelling's floor area, but only after the owner obtains a Special Exception from the Board of Adjustment; that discretionary approval is not automatic. Subsection (5) bars any on-premises sales connected with the business altogether. Fifteen specific use types, including automobile repair, are prohibited outright as home occupations under Sec. 3(a), regardless of the district or floor-area math. A home occupation that grows past these limits, such as hiring a second outside employee or converting a garage into a retail storefront, loses its status as a home occupation and must relocate to a properly zoned commercial site.