Home occupations are allowed in Agricultural, all Residential, Mixed Use, and Neighborhood Business zoning districts of unincorporated Guilford County. The business must be conducted entirely within the residence, be clearly incidental to the home's use, and not change the character of the residence.
Under the Guilford County Unified Development Ordinance, a home occupation is an accessory use permitted in the AG, RS, RM, MXU, and NB districts. It must be conducted entirely within the residence and be clearly incidental and secondary to residential use without changing the character of the home. Home occupations are not permitted in a detached garage or other detached accessory structure, except an accessory dwelling unit. This is a county rule that applies only to unincorporated land; Greensboro and High Point set their own home-occupation zoning inside their limits.
Running a home business outside the permitted districts or beyond home-occupation limits is a UDO zoning violation, enforced by Guilford County Planning & Development through notices of violation, civil penalties, and abatement under NC Gen. Stat. Chapter 160D.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Backyard composting for your own yard and food waste is allowed; the county has no ordinance banning home compost bins. The public-nuisance code does bar acc...
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Guilford County has no ordinance banning or specifically regulating artificial turf on residential lots. Because turf is an impervious-type surface, it may c...
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Guilford County does not mandate native plants for private yards, but its Unified Development Ordinance sets planting standards for required landscape and bu...
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Rain barrels and cisterns are legal; Guilford County has no ordinance banning or restricting rainwater capture. Greensboro even offers a residential rain-bar...
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Guilford County itself does not run a drinking-water utility and sets no lawn-watering ordinance. Outdoor-watering limits come from your city water provider'...
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The county's minimum-housing code requires every yard to be kept free of noxious weeds or plant growth detrimental to health. Separately, a public-nuisance o...
See how Guilford County's zoning restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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