Bayonne, NJ Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

City Code § 35-4.25, dating to Ord. No. O-95-12 and amended by Ord. No. O-16-38, O-16-57 and O-17-07, permits a home professional occupation, as defined in Chapter 33's Planning and Development Regulations § 33-2, within a dwelling unit subject to a detailed list of standards. For any premises not registered with the City as of June 1, 2017, the proprietor must reside in the dwelling unit under § 35-4.25.a.1, and § 35-4.25.a.3 requires the use to stay clearly incidental and secondary to the residential use without changing the dwelling's residential character.

Floor area is capped by § 35-4.25.a.4 at no more than 50% of the dwelling unit, and in two-family dwellings the occupation may take over only one unit, with the proprietor living in the other, still under the 50%-of-structure ceiling per § 35-4.25.a.6. The occupation must sit on a single floor and stay out of the cellar or attic under § 35-4.25.a.8, and § 35-4.25.a.13 limits staffing to no more than one nonresident employee. Signage is limited to what § 35-25 allows and the exterior may show no other evidence of the business under § 35-4.25.a.11, and there can be no on-premises storage or distribution of goods beyond occasional incidental deliveries under § 35-4.25.a.12.

Premises registered with the City Clerk before June 1, 2017 get more liberal, individually grandfathered limits tied to their registration form under § 35-4.25.a.2, .5, .7, .9, .10 and .14, and the City Clerk keeps that registration list as the exclusive record under § 35-4.25.c.