Tempe, AZ Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Section 3-412(A) explains the purpose behind allowing home occupations: they let residents run 'small commercial ventures for which the leasing of commercial quarters is not cost effective' when the business is small enough in scale and impact to fit inside a residence. Subsection B, Applicability, makes home occupations permitted by right, as an accessory use under Section 7-102's definition, in every residential dwelling in the city, so there is no separate zoning-clearance application just to start one; meeting the listed standards is the permit. 1: the business must run inside a lawfully built enclosed building, cannot alter the structure's primary use or building-code occupancy classification, cannot violate any prior development approval conditions, must keep products and equipment out of view from outside, and cannot produce offensive noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odor, heat or glare.

2 bars on-site storage or use of hazardous materials beyond what is normally incidental to residential living. 3 caps staffing at three people working within the residence, of whom no more than one may be a non-family member, and bars using the home as a dispatch headquarters for off-site workers. Because Section 3-412(B) states plainly that 'deviation from any provision noted below shall be considered a violation of this Code,' the zoning standard functions as a strict eligibility test: a business that cannot meet every listed condition is not a lawful home occupation and cannot operate at the address, regardless of whether the owner holds an active state or city business license.