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

Under § 445-8, 'HOME BASED BUSINESS, OTHER' is defined as 'an activity, intended to be financially gainful, conducted within a dwelling unit, the conduct of which is clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the dwelling unit,' capped, like the No Impact category, at two such accessory uses per dwelling. The code contrasts it directly with the No Impact tier: 'Unlike a No-Impact Home Based Business, Home Occupations provide opportunity for on-site customers and therefore, also permit restricted signage opportunity.'

The § 445-12 district use tables show this distinction has real zoning teeth. 'Home Based Business, Other' is listed as a permitted accessory use by right in the City Neighborhood Mixed Residential district (§ 445-12.I) and the Conservation district, alongside the No Impact category. It does not appear in the tables for Suburban Single-Family Residential (§ 445-12.E), Town Single-Family Residential, Town Mixed Residential, or Town-City Single-Family Residential, meaning a resident in one of those single-family districts cannot legally operate a customer-facing home occupation and is limited to the traffic-free No Impact tier. There is no separate permit application described in the definitions article; the use is approved the same way any other listed accessory use is, through the Zoning Officer's review under § 445-74's permits-and-certificates process, or by special exception if a district table marks it 'SE' rather than 'P.'