McCracken County, KY Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

§ 150.016 sets the operative standards for any HOME OCCUPATION in unincorporated McCracken County. The use must be conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on solely by the occupants, remain clearly incidental and secondary to the dwelling's residential purpose, keep only minimal stock in trade, avoid outside storage of equipment or materials, and involve no more than two persons other than the residents. A separate performance standard bars the occupation from generating noise, vibrations, smoke, odors, or electrical interference beyond the property line, protecting neighbors from spillover effects of a business run out of a house.

The section also requires a minimum of two off-street parking spaces on the premises, so an occupation cannot rely on street parking that could crowd a residential road. Before any accessory building used for the occupation is altered, § 150.070 requires a building permit issued in conformity with the zoning regulations, though small accessory buildings of 120 square feet or less are exempt from that permit and from minimum yard setbacks under a separate provision. A home occupation that violates the noise, parking, or scale standards is not automatically shut down by the definition itself, but it falls outside what § 150.016 protects as a by-right accessory use and can be cited under the county's general zoning misdemeanor penalty.