Salem, OR Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

020 sets the standards a home occupation must meet wherever the UDC designates it a special use, and none of these standards can be modified through conditional use approval, meaning there is no discretionary path around them. The business must be run in the operator's own residence, inside lawfully-built, fully enclosed structures, without giving the property the outward appearance of a business. It cannot create a public or private nuisance from noise, odors, vibration, fumes, smoke, fire hazard, or electrical or electromagnetic interference. Home occupations are restricted to providing services and may not include on-site sales of any kind.

Staffing is tightly capped: no more than one nonresident person may work at the property, though additional employees can be associated with the business as long as they never report to work or pick up/deliver there, and the property cannot become a gathering place for off-site workers. Floor-area limits apply on top of the staffing cap: accessory structures used for the home occupation cannot cover more than 5 percent of the total lot area, and all buildings and accessory structures used for the business together cannot exceed 25 percent of the dwelling's habitable space.

No structural alterations can be made that would prevent the property from reverting to purely residential use. Storage of hazardous materials not normally found in a household, and any outdoor storage or display of business materials, equipment, or merchandise, are both prohibited outright.