Sunnyvale, CA Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

010 lets a home occupation operate in any zoning district in the city, residential or otherwise, without a separate use permit, but only after the director of community development confirms the proposed business meets all fourteen listed standards and the operator holds a business license. The use cannot change the residential character or appearance of the dwelling unit or mobile home (subsection a), and it must be conducted entirely inside the dwelling area, not in a yard, garage or accessory structure other than a detached habitable space (subsection b).

No internal or external alterations that make the structure look nonresidential are allowed (subsection c), and the business is capped at 20 percent of the dwelling's floor area or 400 square feet, whichever is smaller, counting any inventory storage toward that limit (subsection d). Inventory and product storage on its own cannot exceed 50 cubic feet (subsection h), and no merchandise or tangible product may be sold on the premises (subsection i). The business cannot generate external noise, odor, glare, vibration or electrical interference detectable by adjacent neighbors using normal senses (subsection k), cannot store explosive, toxic, combustible or flammable materials beyond what a household normally uses (subsection l), and any equipment used must remain compatible with residential use of the unit (subsection m).

Sunnyvale does not cap how many home occupations can run from a single address, but subsection (n) requires that the combined impact of all businesses at that address stay within the limits set for one home occupation. The standards trace to Ordinance 2623-99, amended by Ordinance 2907-09 and Ordinance 3000-13.