Palm Coast, FL Home Business: Zoning Restrictions (2026)

Florida Statute 559.955 — known as the Home-Based Business Act — was originally adopted in 2021 (SB 266) and expanded in 2024 (HB 1011). The statute preempts local government regulation of home-based businesses and prohibits Palm Coast and every other Florida municipality from (1) preventing a home-based business from operating in a residentially zoned area, (2) regulating a home-based business differently from a residence without a business, or (3) applying noise, vibration, light, dust, odor, fumes, or other standards more stringent than those applicable to a residence without a business. What Palm Coast may still regulate, at standards no stricter than those applied to residences without a business: vehicle parking and trailers on streets/rights-of-way, visible commercial/industrial equipment, business signage, and use/storage of hazardous materials. Palm Coast implements its narrow regulatory authority through LDC Section 4.12 (Home Occupations), which treats a home occupation as a 'doing business address' for low-impact business activity and requires that the activity be clearly subordinate to the residential use. The applicant must be the primary resident of the home. Depending on the zoning district, a home occupation may be permitted by right or require a special exception (public hearing before the Planning and Land Development Regulation Board). Palm Coast was originally master-planned by ITT in the 1970s, and most residential lots are subject to recorded ITT/HOA restrictions that FS 559.955 expressly preserves — your deed or HOA covenants may impose stricter limits than the city.