St. Louis County, MN Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

20 of Zoning Ordinance 62 defines a home business as a commercial business use conducted on the same property on which the owner's home is situated which may employ no more than five persons who are not residents of the owner's home, must be consistent with rural residential lifestyle, and cannot become a nuisance to or otherwise incompatible with the surrounding areas. That definition, not a general home-occupation exemption, is what gates every home business in unincorporated St. Louis County. Subsection B limits where one can operate at all: only the FAM, MU, SMU, COM, LSO and LCO zone districts, and even there the owner needs a performance standard permit from the Planning and Zoning Department rather than an over-the-counter registration.

The permit carries six conditions. There can be no outside storage of material or equipment (item 1), and all waste generated by the business must be disposed of under county and state regulations (item 2). The Department must send notice to adjoining property owners to gauge whether the business fits the area, and comments received within 14 days can trigger additional standards or force the Director to bump the application up to a full conditional use permit (item 4). The local fire department gets separate notice if the business keeps hazardous, toxic or flammable material on site (item 5).

A home business exceeding the five-employee cap, sited outside the six listed districts, or found to be a nuisance loses its footing under this section entirely and would need conditional use approval, if any approval is available at all.