Melbourne, FL Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 2(E) of the zoning ordinance's use-standards article makes home-based businesses a permitted accessory use citywide, not a conditional or special-exception use, so a homeowner does not need a rezoning or variance to run one, only compliance with the performance standards and the city's separate business tax receipt process under chapter 54, article VIII. The core standards require the business to operate on property developed with a residential dwelling and stay clearly secondary to the home's residential use; walk-in retail transactions have to happen inside the dwelling itself, not in a yard, garage or accessory structure.

Staffing is capped: everyone who works at the home has to live there, except up to two employees or independent contractors who do not reside on-site. 20(C), and no goods or displays may be visible from any street or yard. Equipment, chemicals or processes that generate off-premises noise, vibration, odor, heat, glare or electromagnetic interference are barred, and the business has to comply with the noise standards in Chapter 26. To operate legally, an applicant must submit a business tax receipt application disclosing the dwelling location, a description of the business and its on-site activities, the number of resident and non-resident employees, and, if the applicant is not the property owner, a notarized letter of approval from the owner.

A denied application can be appealed to the board of adjustment under Section 2(E)(3). None of this overrides a subdivision's private HOA deed restrictions, which the city's tax receipt does not waive.