Highland, CA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Highland Municipal Code § 16.44.140(A) covers home occupations, a category the code's definitions describe as an occupation conducted entirely within a dwelling by its inhabitants, incidental to residential use. The stated intent is to let home based businesses that are an accessory use to the primary residence exist under conditions that keep them compatible with the residential environment in the City of Highland. The section applies to every home occupation as defined in the development code.

Home occupation businesses are permitted within any private residence if they meet ten conditions. Staffing is closed to outsiders: there can be no employment of help other than members of the household who reside at the property. There can be no direct sale of goods associated with the home occupation on the premises. Commercial vehicles are limited to those typically associated with residential uses. Storage is capped at a maximum of 250 square feet or 25 percent of the residence, whichever is greater, and no storage of materials, supplies or equipment can be outdoors or visible from outside the home.

Space is also capped. Not more than two rooms within the dwelling can be used for the business, and that count includes an attached or detached enclosed garage. No outdoor space can be used for home occupation purposes. The premises cannot be reasonably recognizable as serving a nonresidential use by color, form, materials of construction, lighting, signs, sounds, noises, odors, vibrations or other means.

A tenant who runs a home occupation must provide written authorization from the property owner. Cottage food operations are carved out: they are exempt from subsection A and governed by subsection B of the same section. The business itself is also regulated in Title 5, where Chapter 5.12 covers home based businesses under the business license chapters.