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

125, Home Occupations, applies citywide rather than zone by zone. 030. That section sets ten conditions: no traffic beyond what the residential neighborhood normally generates, except for the one allowed employee; no signs visible from outside the dwelling beyond what a home is otherwise permitted; no outdoor storage of supplies or equipment; no more than one home-occupation vehicle on the premises, capped at a one-ton truck or van; no hazardous materials without fire chief approval; no external effects such as noise, smoke, odors, vibration or electromagnetic interference; a 500-square-foot cap on the space used inside the dwelling; deliveries no more than once a day; all required on-site parking spaces kept available; and no more than one non-resident employee.

Because the chapter is written as a single, citywide standard rather than a series of zone-specific lists, the same ten conditions apply whether the dwelling sits in the R-1 single-family zone, an R-3 multifamily building, or a residential unit above a C-1 storefront. Community Development treats a home business that outgrows any one of these limits, most often the traffic, signage, storage or square-footage conditions, as no longer a home occupation, which forces the operator either to scale back or relocate to a commercially zoned site.