Eagan, MN Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Eagan zones home occupations as a permitted accessory residential use, listed among permitted accessory uses in the city's residential use tables, but only when the business meets the standards in City Code Sec. 11.70, Subd. 23. Subdivision 23.A requires the occupation to remain clearly incidental and secondary to the dwelling's residential use and forbids it from changing the residential character of the property, meaning the home has to keep looking and functioning like a house. Subdivision 23.B caps staffing at three people working in the home occupation, one of whom may live outside the dwelling, so a home business cannot become a multi-employee operation with several outside workers reporting to the house.

Subdivision 23.C bars any home occupation activity inside a detached or attached accessory building or garage, confining the business to the principal dwelling itself. Subdivision 23.D requires that no evidence of the home occupation be visible from the street, covering signage, equipment, materials or activity that would tip off a passerby that a business is operating inside. Subdivision 23.G requires the business entrance to be from within the principal structure, not a separate dedicated doorway. Together with the over-the-counter sales ban in Subd. 23.F and the three-space parking cap in Subd.

23.H, these standards keep a home occupation subordinate to the residential use rather than letting it operate as a freestanding commercial use in a residential zoning district. Community Development reviews compliance during zoning enforcement.