In unincorporated Elkhart County, a home occupation is an accessory use allowed in residential and agricultural districts under the county Zoning Ordinance, administered by the Planning and Development Department in Goshen. Inside Elkhart, Goshen, Nappanee, and Middlebury, each city's own zoning ordinance governs instead.
The Elkhart County Zoning Ordinance treats a home occupation as an accessory use to a dwelling in unincorporated areas, and the Planning and Development Department in Goshen administers it. The business must stay clearly secondary to the home, run by the residents, without changing the property's residential or agricultural character. The county's large Amish population runs home cottage industries such as furniture, cabinetry, sewing, and repair shops under these accessory-use standards, many on farm parcels in agricultural or residential districts. Inside the cities of Elkhart, Goshen, Nappanee, and Middlebury, that municipality's zoning ordinance controls rather than the county's.
The county Planning and Development Department can issue a notice of violation and order an unpermitted or non-conforming home occupation to stop, with zoning enforcement continuing until the use conforms.
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See how Elkhart County's zoning restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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