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

Redlands City Code § 18.08.315 defines a "home occupation" as a use "customarily conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on by the inhabitants thereof," which must stay "clearly incidental and secondary" to residential use and not change the character of the dwelling. Chapter 18.160 then sets the operating rules. Section 18.160.020 lists the criteria a use must meet: no employees other than the resident family, no equipment outside normal residential practice, no direct sales of products except home-grown produce, and no customers or clientele visiting the dwelling, though the community development director may approve incidental exceptions such as music lessons, tutoring or produce sales.

The size cap is explicit: "No more than ten percent (10%) of the total square footage of the dwelling or one room of the dwelling, whichever is less, shall be employed for the home occupation," and a garage may be used only if it does not displace required parking. The code also bars accessory buildings, outdoor storage, advertising signs other than a telephone listing, and any increase in utility use beyond normal residential levels, and it requires mail-order operators to use a P.O. box. Under § 18.160.030, an applicant files a signed application and fee with the planning department, and § 18.160.050 gives the community development director authority to approve, condition or deny the request in writing, with the decision final after ten days unless appealed to the planning commission under § 18.160.100.

A denied application for the same or substantially the same home occupation on the same site cannot be refiled for six months. Section 18.160.080 caps the initial permit at one year and requires annual renewal alongside the city business license, and § 18.160.030 states a home occupation permit "is not valid until a current city business license is obtained."