Smyrna, GA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

The Smyrna Zoning Ordinance defines a home occupation as an activity customarily conducted entirely within a dwelling unit by the occupants, clearly incidental and secondary to residential use and conducted under Sec. 505. In the R-30 district, Sec. 701.3 lists home occupations as a permitted use only if they conform to Sec. 505 and are subject to approval by the mayor and council.

Sec. 505 then lays out the physical limits. There shall be no exterior evidence of the home occupation (505.1). No accessory buildings or outside storage of materials and equipment can be used (505.2). No internal or external alterations inconsistent with the residential use of the building are allowed (505.3). No more than 25 percent of the total floor area of the dwelling unit can be used for the business (505.4). Later subsections bar chemical, electrical or mechanical equipment beyond what is normally used for household or hobby purposes, and bar equipment that interferes with radio or television reception.

The certificate itself is treated as a privilege. Sec. 505.13 says a home occupation certificate is merely a privilege granted only where the section 505 requirements are met and there is no vested right to it. Under 505.14, certificates are granted on a calendar year basis for one year. The fee for a home occupation tax certificate is approved by the mayor and council and kept on file in the office of the city clerk (505.16), so the dollar amount is not printed in the zoning ordinance.

Revocation is spelled out in 505.15. Causes include conducting an activity that creates a nuisance or is illegal, violating any law or ordinance of the city, county, State of Georgia or United States other than minor traffic offenses, making a false statement in connection with the application or any hearing, and failing to pay the certificate fee or any tax or fee owed to the city, Cobb County or the State of Georgia.

Sec. 505.18 sets up a faster track. A certificate can issue from the occupation tax certificate office without an appearance before the mayor and council, but only for computer work, internet sales, typing, bookkeeping, small arts and crafts, and telephone use. Apartment operators need a letter of approval from the owner, not the management, and renters need approval from the property owner.