The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County UDO permits home occupations in residential districts only as a clearly incidental and secondary use to living in the home. One home occupation is allowed per dwelling, and it must not significantly increase traffic, noise, glare, dust, smoke, or odors.
Under UDO Section B.2-6.4(D), a home occupation must be a clearly incidental and secondary use to the principal residential use by the person conducting it. Only one home occupation is permitted per dwelling unit, operated in the principal dwelling or a permitted accessory building. The floor area used cannot exceed 25 percent of the dwelling's gross floor area (except where resident lodging is provided). Service occupations like offices, studios, dressmaking, and home cooking may get a zoning permit; construction contracting and motor-vehicle repair need a Special Use Permit in rural GMAs 4 and 5. Inside town limits (Kernersville, Clemmons, etc.), the town's ordinance governs instead.
A home occupation that violates these standards has its zoning permit revoked by the Director of Inspections; operating a use not permitted in the residential district is a UDO zoning violation subject to abatement.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Home backyard composting is allowed in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County. There is no ordinance requiring or banning it, but a compost pile must not become a nuis...
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Neither Winston-Salem nor Forsyth County has a specific ordinance banning or mandating artificial turf for home lawns. Its use is governed by general zoning,...
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Since 2024 Winston-Salem lets residents replace lawns with registered Natural Landscape Areas of native plants. Turf grass must stay under eight inches, area...
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Collecting rainwater is legal in North Carolina, and no county or city may prohibit cisterns or rain barrels used for irrigation. Forsyth County sets no ban....
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North Carolina has no statewide homeowner watering ban, and there is no permanent year-round schedule in Winston-Salem/Forsyth. Mandatory odd/even watering d...
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Winston-Salem defines 'rank noxious vegetation' over eight inches as a nuisance, including non-native grasses, invasive plants, poisonous plants, and untende...
See how Forsyth County's zoning restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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