Johnson County, IA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

24(S) creates three tiers of home-based work in the unincorporated county. Home occupations and no-impact home-based businesses are accessory uses (allowed by right) in the A, AR, SF, RS, RM, RC, RMH, and AG-T districts; home businesses are conditionally permitted in those same eight districts; and home industries are conditionally permitted in the A, AR, SF, RS, RC, and AG-T districts, excluding RM and RMH. Permitting tracks the tier: a no-impact home-based business, or a home occupation with zero customer or public visits, needs no permit; a home occupation where customers visit requires Zoning Administrator approval; a home business or home industry requires a conditional use permit from the Board of Adjustment.

Only one home business or home industry is allowed per parcel or parcel group. Residency rules scale with intensity: a no-impact business operator must live in the dwelling housing the business, a home occupation operator must reside on the parcel, and a home business or home industry operator must reside on the parcel or within a quarter mile on an adjacent parcel. Outdoor storage tied to a no-impact business must be fully screened from the right-of-way and neighbors, and a severe weather plan is required whenever customers visit.

Ten uses, including animal slaughter facilities, event centers, farmers markets, food service establishments, and overnight guest lodging, are barred outright from operating as a home occupation, business, or industry, and a use otherwise conditionally permitted in the district cannot be run as one of these three instead.