St. Martin Parish, LA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

The St. Martin Parish Zoning Ordinance, printed as Appendix C of the Code of Ordinances, applies to the unincorporated area of the parish under art. III § 1. Its art. II definition of Home Occupation sets the tests: the use is accessory, it is conducted within a dwelling by a resident, it stays clearly secondary to the dwelling's living use, it shows no exterior evidence except a small nameplate, and no stock-in-trade is kept. The ordinance defines a nameplate as a sign indicating the name and address of a building or the name of an occupant and the practice of a permitted occupation.

The definition names what counts: a professional office such as a physician, surgeon or dentist, violin, piano or other professional musical instrument instruction limited to a single pupil at a time, and a dressmaker, milliner, seamstress or beauty parlor, each with not more than one (1) paid assistant. It names what does not count: dancing instructions, band instrument instruction in groups, tearooms, tourist homes, real estate offices, convalescent homes, mortuary establishments and stores, trades, or businesses of any kind not specifically excepted. A second paragraph covers remote or internet sales and the storage of items for off-site rental or other use, so long as no clientele or customers visit the dwelling to shop or select items. Stored items cannot alter the dwelling's character, and only an adult resident can clean or inspect them, temporarily.

The term appears in the permitted-use lists for the A-2, R-1, R-1R, R-2 and R-4 districts. The R-3 Multifamily list does not print it, and W-2 takes in R-2 uses by reference. Under art. IX § 8, no change in the use or occupancy of land or of an existing building can be made until the director of planning and development issues a certificate of zoning compliance, applied for at the same time as the development permit.