Catawba County, NC Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Under UDO Sec. 44-615, a home occupation is a low-intensity use "occupying a minority area of the principal structure" that must stay subordinate to the residence. The ordinance lists permitted categories, including computer programming, catering, dressmaking, hair salons (with nail salon or tanning bed only as accessory uses), lawn care, taxidermy and tutoring of up to four students at a time, and the planning director may consult the current NAICS manual for uses not specifically listed, referring disputed interpretations to the board of adjustment (BOA).

A home occupation is prohibited outright if it changes the outside appearance of the dwelling, is visible from a street, creates a hazard or nuisance (excessive noise, odor or dust), or generates more than two customer vehicles on site at any given time. Operationally, no more than 25 percent of the aggregate usable floor area of the principal dwelling may be devoted to the business, accessory structures cannot be used for the business, and no outside storage or display of product is allowed. Only one person may work on site other than residents of the property.

The regulation also limits vehicle presence: single-motor work vehicles such as dump trucks, box trucks, bucket trucks, pump trucks and tow trucks may be parked outside, but no more than one commercial vehicle per employee up to a maximum of three, and no more than two of those may sit in the front or side yard.