Medina, OH Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 1155.07, "Home Occupation," permits home-based businesses as an accessory use without requiring the Zoning Certificate that most other uses need, since the section is expressly "exempt from the requirements of Section 1107.03, Zoning Certificate Required." That exemption comes with strict conditions instead. The use must stay secondary in importance to the use of the dwelling for residential purposes (§ 1155.07(a)), and it must be run by the people who live there, with no on-premises employees (§ 1155.07(b)). There can be no sale of goods on the premises (§ 1155.07(c)) and no sign advertising the business (§ 1155.07(d)).

The occupation cannot generate traffic beyond what a residential neighborhood would normally see (§ 1155.07(e)), and there can be no visible evidence from outside that a business is being run there at all (§ 1155.07(f)). Regular customers or clients aren't permitted on-site (§ 1155.07(g)), and no equipment or process may create a safety hazard, noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors, or electrical interference detectable outside the dwelling (§ 1155.07(h)). The use is capped at twenty percent of the dwelling's total floor area (§ 1155.07(i)), and it still has to comply with every other federal, state, and local law (§ 1155.07(j)).

The opening paragraph makes clear that any home occupation causing an undesirable condition interfering with the general welfare of the surrounding residential area is automatically deemed a Zoning Code violation, giving the city a catch-all basis for enforcement beyond the individually listed conditions.