West New York, NJ Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Note 4 of § 414-15 of the Town of West New York Code permits customary home occupations as an accessory use, provided five conditions are met. The occupation is carried on entirely within the principal structure only by the inhabitants, who shall not exceed two persons. It is incidental and secondary to the residential use and does not use more than 30 percent of the total floor area of the dwelling unit. No special mechanical equipment is used beyond what is customarily found in a dwelling unit. No display of goods or signs identifying the occupation is permitted. And the occupation does not generate truck delivery or pickup activities as a general part of the operation. Note 4 itself does not create a separate home occupation permit or fee.

The definition in § 414-11 is worded differently. It describes a home occupation as an activity conducted entirely within a dwelling and carried on solely by the inhabitants, clearly incidental and secondary to dwelling use, with not more than three persons engaged and not more than 1/3 of the floor area of one story devoted to the use. It adds that the occupation shall not be conducted in an accessory building and that no mechanical equipment is used other than that customary for purely domestic or household purposes. Section 414-23C(1)(a) also lists, among the signs allowed in residence districts, signs indicating the name or address of the occupant or a permitted home occupation or profession, not exceeding one square foot, with only one sign per dwelling unit. Note 4(4) points the other way, so the Construction Official, who enforces the chapter under § 414-80A, is the one who applies these provisions to a given household.

Note 5 is a separate rule for professional offices in medicine, dentistry, architecture, engineering, law, accounting and similar licensed fields, or for an artist, musician or instructor in arts and crafts. The accessory office use cannot exceed 50 percent of the total floor area of the residence, with not more than one identification sign of one square foot.