Monterey Park, CA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 21.08.040(C) creates the home occupation permit as the general path for operating any home-based business in Monterey Park's residential zones. The application goes to the City Planner on a city form with a filing fee set by City Council resolution, and the Planner may attach reasonable conditions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the neighborhood. Only a narrow set of businesses is affirmatively listed as permitted: office use, mail ordering, and home crafts such as model making or basket weaving. Everything else is filtered through use limitations that apply on top of any zone-specific rule: one home occupation per address, conducted in the resident's primary residence, limited to paperwork carried out entirely within a single designated room that cannot exceed 200 square feet or 10% of the home's floor area, whichever is smaller, and staffed only by members of the resident family, with no outside employees.

The business cannot generate direct retail sales from the home, cannot advertise with on-site signage or by publishing the home address, cannot store anything beyond samples, and cannot be run out of an accessory structure such as a garage or accessory dwelling unit. A permit holder gets one three-quarter-ton vehicle at most for the business if the City Planner approves it, and the Planner can periodically inspect the property, revoke the permit for noncompliance, and an applicant or any aggrieved person can appeal a Planner decision to the Planning Commission under Chapter 1.10.