Craven County, NC Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

17 of the Coastal Carolina Regional Airport Zoning and Height Control Ordinance, part of Chapter 41, Article III, defines a home occupation as a commercial activity conducted by a resident on the same lot where they live, within the airport zone or airport development-mixed use zone, that goes beyond an incidental accessory use but still avoids any significant adverse impact on the surrounding neighborhood. The floor-area cap applies whether the occupation is run from the house itself or from a detached structure on the lot: it cannot exceed 400 square feet of total floor area, or 25 percent of the primary structure, whichever number is smaller.

The ordinance spells out specific red flags that automatically disqualify a use from staying an allowed home occupation: displaying goods or stock in trade, making any on-premises retail sale, employing more than one person who isn't a resident of the home, or generating objectionable noise, fumes, odor, dust, or electrical interference. It also caps the space at 25 percent of combined residential and accessory building floor area, or 500 square feet, whichever is less. The ordinance lists examples of enterprises that can qualify when they meet these standards, including a physician's, dentist's, artist's, musician's, lawyer's, architect's, or teacher's office or studio, workshops, greenhouses, kilns, and dressmaking or hairdressing studios.