St. Peters, MO Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 405.380, Home-Based Work, lists fourteen numbered conditions in Subsection A that apply to every home occupation in the City of St. Peters, Missouri, regardless of zoning district. The work may only be performed by the owner or a tenant of the dwelling unit itself, not by an outside operator, and the total number of employees and clients on site at one time cannot exceed the dwelling's occupancy limit. The use cannot cause a substantial increase in neighborhood traffic, cannot be visible from an adjoining street, and cannot alter the residence's appearance through colors, materials, construction, lighting, signs, or noise.

The activity must be conducted entirely within the residence, storage or display of related goods cannot be visible from outside, and the work cannot reduce required off-street parking; a minimum of two off-street spaces must be kept available for it. Utility use for the residence and the home-based work together cannot exceed the average for neighborhood residences, no unlisted commercial vehicles may be stored or displayed outside, and the operator must comply with all State, Federal, and City law. Non-owner-occupied short-term rental use of the residence triggers a separate annual inspection under the same Section. Subsection B makes any failure to meet these conditions an ordinance violation, enforced by the Planning, Community and Economic Development Department.