Santa Fe, NM Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

3(D)(2) of the Land Development Code lets home occupations operate on all property, including residential or mixed-use residential/commercial zoning, provided the standards in the section are met. The general standards in (D)(2)(c) require that the business be run by an owner who resides continuously and substantially at the premises, that no more than two people besides resident family members be regularly engaged in the work, and that the home occupation not produce offensive noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odor, heat, gas, glare or electrical interference, with storage of firearms, ammunition, fireworks or explosives for sale or service flatly prohibited.

Cannabis establishments and commercial cannabis activity cannot be run as a home occupation at all. The structural standards in (D)(2)(d)(i) cap the space used at no more than 25% of the dwelling unit's gross floor area, including accessory buildings, with a 1,000-square-foot cap when the calculation runs through an ADU. Every person conducting a home occupation must register it with the city on city-designated forms, verifying compliance, and must renew that registration each year under (D)(2)(f)(ii). Depending on the nature of the business, the land use director may require proof of compliance before issuing the business registration, and an inspection is mandatory before registration is issued whenever off-site employees, customers or clients come to the premises, or goods are prepared, produced, grown or stored there.