Home based businesses?

Traditionally, many people lived at their business. In older cities, the older building in retail areas were built so the business (store, restaurant, etc) is downstairs and the residence upstairs. However, zoning laws for new buildings (and often even older ones) prohibit this. Property is zones for a specific usage, sometimes not only whether business or resident, but even what type of business, what type or resident (house, duplex, apartment). Even major companies now have employees operate from home. For example, at a airport to rent a car we did so communicating with a booking agent via computer, that agent doing this in his home.

Many people do business out of their homes. They sell stuff online. Are a CPA, tradesmen, do IT work, transcribing, etc. etc. The degree the zoning people enforces the prohibition for doing business out of a home varies greatly - some to extreme degrees.

Personally, unless it causes traffic jams, noise, smells or has some danger element to it, home based businesses should be encouraged. It minimized traffic, is dollar-efficient meaning the business person can spend more money in the economy other than for rent, utilities, fuel travel etc for a business location. It minimizes energy usage. The list of benefits is long. However, many people greatly oppose having any business in residences.

Your opinion?

There are so many factors to consider that it makes answering the question pretty with anything but "it depends" pretty much impossible.

No residential neighborhood should be subjected traffic and parking problems associated with the physical presence of a business in someone's home. It creates public safety and public nuisance problems. However, if you're running a mail order business out of the house and have a delivery twice a day that shouldn't be a problem. Those, however, are merely two aspects of the hundreds or thousands I could come up with.

I voted "Other" because of the reasoning behind the answers.

I believe people should be able to work out of their home unless it creates hazardous externalities or major nuisances that stop people from being able to enjoy the use of their own property. For example, someone creating a heavy industrial manufacturing in their residence and producing dangerous waste in the middle of a residential neighborhood should definitely be prohibited. But otherwise, I think it is perfectly fine for people to work out of their homes.

Some people think residential neighborhoods should be strictly residential. Generally the higher the price of the houses, the more this is the rule. Thus, when you get to upper middle class and high income neighborhoods, you might have to drive a mile before finding gas station, C-store or restaurant. Those areas seem very sterile and "anal retentive" to me.

Personally, I like it mixed as it gives a neighborhood more personality and a stronger sense of community. For example, in some older Northern industrial cities there is a small tavern, some also serving food, every other corner. I think that adds to a community's sense of self and favor. Then again, I'm huge on real property rights.

I like Felis and LutherF's responses. I would not have thought of instances where an at-home business would cause problems for neighbors.

I actually had a living situation that was the reverse of the given scenario. When I moved out of my mother's house, I tried to start a video rental store here in town, and that's where I lived. The whole ordeal did not go well. I was young, stupid, and had no business trying to run a business. This town is a practically dead village, I was trying to rent out VHS tapes at a time when DVDs had been around for a few years, and we did stupid **** worthy of an epic comedy farce.

Unless it is causing massive issues I don't see why not. I think mixed-use development should be encouraged everywhere.

joko104 said:

Some people think residential neighborhoods should be strictly residential. Generally the higher the price of the houses, the more this is the rule. Thus, when you get to upper middle class and high income neighborhoods, you might have to drive a mile before finding gas station, C-store or restaurant. Those areas seem very sterile and "anal retentive" to me.

Personally, I like it mixed as it gives a neighborhood more personality and a stronger sense of community. For example, in some older Northern industrial cities there is a small tavern, some also serving food, every other corner. I think that adds to a community's sense of self and favor. Then again, I'm huge on real property rights.

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Not to mention it reduces sprawl, generally makes homes more affordable, encourages walking instead of driving, etc.

joko104 said:

Some people think residential neighborhoods should be strictly residential. Generally the higher the price of the houses, the more this is the rule. Thus, when you get to upper middle class and high income neighborhoods, you might have to drive a mile before finding gas station, C-store or restaurant. Those areas seem very sterile and "anal retentive" to me.

Personally, I like it mixed as it gives a neighborhood more personality and a stronger sense of community. For example, in some older Northern industrial cities there is a small tavern, some also serving food, every other corner. I think that adds to a community's sense of self and favor. Then again, I'm huge on real property rights.

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Here in my neighborhood and around, we have neighborhood bars/grills along with churches some with schools, day cares, and little convenience stores. We go to our favorite little neighborhood bar and like the TV show it's where everybody knows your name and always glad you came. I am very pro home based business unless as other people mentioned it causes problems. One instance I can think of are the houses like an AirBnB where you might have different people coming and going all the time next door. I am still on the fence about that kind of thing.

Strange poll IMO. These considerations vary from state to state, community to community. You can already likely find what you want, you just have to move there. Why would we want to encourage it to be one way vs another, when there are clearly huge differences between the two lifestyles?

I do not want a line of cars in my neighborhood for some at-home business. I don't want the increased traffic. I don't want more noise than necessary for construction/repairs.
If it's a computer/phone/writing, etc., job, they already work from home, on one cares.

I don't want a ****ing Tavern in my suburban neighborhood, sorry, doesn't sound like the community I want. Yet, plenty of downtown/new developments offer this type of residence (kids are gone or young/single).

Communities already handle this, some are in areas where residence is actually on top of business...you can go downstairs to eat/drink and be merry. Every major city in my area has such places, mixed in with suburbs or downtown. Just move there. Downtown areas, they have plenty of business/residential all mixed up, a big revitalization goes on any many downtown areas, cultural district access too.

But suburbs? No thanks. I mean, sure, some people teach piano lessons at home, but I haven't seen restriction of this personally. And if there was, you can always choose a location to accommodate.

If you have morons for neighbors, "reasonable restrictions" suddenly go out the window.

I had a home based business...child care...in order to get my licence, I had to have the agreement of all my neighbors...no biggie...

Should home-based businesses/employment be prohibited?

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No....

As long as it doesn't cause a major problem for others, I'm fine with it.