Wauwatosa, WI Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

10, Accessory and Temporary Uses, and applies to any home occupation run out of a dwelling in the household living category. The code states its purpose plainly: it exists to keep home occupations in residential districts from harming the character and livability of the surrounding neighborhood and to keep the home occupation subordinate to the residential use. 030 use table, such as home-based day cares and bed and breakfasts, are exempt and are not regulated as home occupations. Every other home business must meet a list of minimum standards: it must stay accessory and secondary to residential use and may not produce light, noise, vibration, odor, added parking demand, traffic, or any exterior activity out of character with a residential neighborhood.

No external structural alteration that would change the residential character is allowed, including paving a required setback for parking or adding commercial-style exterior lighting, and no new entrance may be added to the building unless it is invisible from the public street. All work and any storage other than lawful vehicle parking must occur entirely inside a completely enclosed building, either the house itself or an allowed accessory building like a detached garage, and that garage space cannot eat into the minimum off-street parking the property is required to keep.

No window display or public display of merchandise is permitted, and the person operating the home occupation must live in the dwelling where it is based.