Mount Prospect, IL Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 14.307 of the Village Code applies to every home occupation in the Village of Mount Prospect, as defined in section 14.2401. The definition describes an accessory use conducted completely within a dwelling unit and clearly incidental and secondary to residential use, and it bars any home occupation from being conducted in a garage. The stated aim of the standards is to keep a home occupation from having an adverse impact on a residential area or infringing on the rights of adjoining property owners.

The physical limits are specific. The business cannot use more than twenty five percent of the gross floor area of the dwelling unit. Storage or inventory kept at the residence cannot exceed one hundred cubic feet, which the code compares to what could readily be stored in a closet. No outside storage of any kind related to the home occupation is permitted. There can be no separate entrance for the home occupation and no exterior alteration that shows any part of the residence is used for something other than a dwelling, and the entrance to any space devoted to the business must be from within the dwelling.

Operating limits follow. No noise, odor, dust, vibration, smoke, glare, television or radio signal interference, electrical interference, fire hazard or other hazard can leave the dwelling, and no home occupation can involve noxious, toxic or harmful materials. Vehicles used with the business must comply with section 14.2203. No contracting or service equipment or materials can be stored on the premises except in a permitted truck used to move equipment between jobs, no loading or unloading of equipment or materials can happen on the premises, and no commercial contracting trailer can be parked there. Private instruction is allowed, capped at no more than three pupils at a time.

Section 14.307 lists standards only. It prints no application form, fee or approval step for a home occupation, so compliance is measured against these standards. Signs, employees and customer visits are covered in their own standards within the same section.