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

Sec. 6 of the Zoning and Development Code sets Pomona's home occupation standards. A home occupation is defined in Sec. 9 as the secondary use of a dwelling unit for a business enterprise run by a resident. Sec. 2 requires a Ministerial Permit for a home occupation before it can operate, processed under Sec. C without discretionary review. Under the General standards, at least 1 person engaged in the home occupation must actually reside in the dwelling unit, and the permit is not transferable: a new home occupation, even in the same house, needs its own permit application.

The Design standard confines the business entirely to one room or other space within the home's occupancy allowance, and the entrance to that space has to be inside the dwelling unit, not a separate exterior storefront-style entrance. On Allowed Uses, a home occupation is limited to General Office activity as defined in Sec. 8, and mobile licensed businesses, including mobile car washes and mobile vehicle sales, are excluded outright. Pomona also recognizes a broader Home-Based Business category under Sec. 8 for businesses with a greater degree of activity, which likewise needs a Ministerial Permit, is capped at 1 per dwelling unit, and allows a wider set of uses such as personal services and general retail, but a home occupation itself stays limited to office-type work performed by a resident inside one room of the house.