Pottstown, PA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Borough Code § 504, added by Ord. 2142 in November 2015, permits home occupations in all zoning districts and splits them into two tiers. No-impact home occupations are permitted as of right if they meet a list of requirements: the operation must stay compatible with residential use, show no exterior evidence such as lighting or stockpiled goods, conduct no retail sales other than phone or internet orders, be run by a resident practitioner employing no more than one outside worker, and occupy no more than 25% of the dwelling unit's habitable floor area or 500 square feet, whichever is less.

Major home occupations, by contrast, are permitted only as a conditional use requiring a Borough Council hearing, must substantially meet the no-impact standards plus added conditions: the use must sit in a single-family detached dwelling or an accessory building on that lot, may occupy up to 25% of the dwelling's floor area or 600 square feet, whichever is less, and cannot be sited on a lot smaller than 15,000 square feet; Council can also impose buffering or screening conditions to offset off-site impacts. Both tiers require registration and a permit: existing home occupations had six months from the section's effective date to register with the Department of Licensing and Inspections or be treated as having abandoned any nonconforming status, and going forward no home occupation, new or existing, may operate without a permit from that department, which sets the permit fee by Council resolution and can revoke a permit outright for noncompliance.