Kill Devil Hills, NC Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

" That definition is the operative standard townwide: the activity must produce income, but the only person who may work in it is "a member of the family residing on the premises"; no outside employees, contractors or staff are allowed on site. The occupation cannot generate any additional parking demand over what the residential use already creates, meaning a home business that draws customer or employee vehicles beyond normal household parking falls outside the definition. Activities must also be "confined to the principal dwelling unit," which the Planning and Inspections Department reads to exclude detached garages, sheds or accessory structures as home occupation workspace.

The definition closes with an enforcement trigger: any activity that fails to meet these tests "constitute[s] business or commercial activities and must be conducted in an appropriate zone with prior approval," meaning the Zoning Administrator can require the operator to seek a special use or move to a commercially zoned property rather than continue as an unpermitted home business. 002) rather than a use-standards article, the Zoning Administrator applies it whenever a district's use table lists "home occupations" as a permitted or special use, including in the RL, RH, OIR and Commercial zones.