Can I run a business from home in Orinda, California?
Yes, if it stays low-impact: Orinda allows home occupations in residential zones without a use permit, as long as they meet the code's standards. Only residents may work in the business (no employees or contractors, though state law may allow a registered cottage food business one employee), it can use at most one room or 20% of the home, and there can be no business signs or extra traffic. Some businesses, like salons, medical offices and on-site retail pickup, are banned outright.
| Approval | Permitted ("L") use in RVL, RL and RH districts if standards are met [1] |
| Employees | None; only permanent residents, no independent contractors [2] |
| Floor area | One room, or 20% of the home's floor area if one room would be larger [3] |
| Signs and displays | None that identify the business [4] |
| Traffic | No more than normal single-family traffic [5] |
| Company vehicles | 1 (car, van or truck up to 3/4 ton) [6] |
| Banned outright | Salons/barbers, on-site retail pickup, medical/dental offices, kennels, vehicle repair, cabinet making and more [7] |
What's allowed
Orinda wants home occupations to have minimal impact on neighbors. The code's model is a business run by phone, mail or Internet, or mobile services provided at the customer's home. Limited professional, therapeutic and educational services at your home are also allowed under the standards below [8]. In the land use schedule, home occupation is an "L" use: permitted, subject to the objective limits in Section 17.3.7 [1]. It is allowed in the RVL, RL and RH districts; the schedule shows a dash (not permitted) for the RM district.
Standards you must meet
- No employees: only permanent residents may work in the business, with no employees or independent contractors [2].
- Size: one room, or 20% of the floor area where one room would be larger [3]. Using the garage can't reduce the required covered parking.
- No signs: the house can't be visibly changed, and there can be no outside display, advertising sign, window display or storage that identifies the business [4].
- Traffic: no more vehicle or foot traffic than normal for a single-family home [5]. Outdoor lessons such as tennis or swimming can't be audible to neighbors.
- Vehicles: no more than one company vehicle (car, van or truck up to three-quarter ton) [6].
- No nuisances: no noise, vibration, fumes, odors or dust detectable from the street or neighbors. Flammable or hazardous materials need Moraga-Orinda Fire District approval.
- Making goods: limited to small-scale arts, crafts and hobby items, and specialty food items with the required permits, for off-site sale.
Prohibited businesses
The code bans beauty parlors and barber shops, retail or wholesale sales where buyers pick up goods at the home, restaurants and food-truck prep sites, cabinet making and similar manufacturing, stables, kennels, veterinary clinics, animal breeding and grooming, on-site vehicle and appliance repair, and medical and dental offices [7].
Related uses
Short-term rentals are not home occupations; they have separate rules. Small and large family day care homes are permitted residential uses in all residential districts, and no business license fee or tax may be imposed for them. For a registered cottage food operation, state law may override the code's no-employee rule, its limit to food made for off-site sale and its ban on buyers picking up goods at the home: state law bars cities from prohibiting cottage food operations and allows one full-time-equivalent employee outside the household.
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Next steps
- Check your business against the list of prohibited home occupations and the standards in OMC §17.3.7 (no employees, one room or 20% of the home, no signs).
- If you're unsure whether your business fits, ask the Orinda Planning Department (925-253-4210, 22 Orinda Way) for a Zoning Administrator determination.
- Get any other licenses your business needs, such as a City business license, and county health permits for food made at home.
- Get Moraga-Orinda Fire District approval before storing any flammable or hazardous materials.
Common questions
- Do I need a home occupation permit in Orinda, California?
- No use permit is needed. Home occupations are allowed in Orinda's RVL, RL and RH districts as long as they meet the code's standards, but not in the RM district. You may still need a City business license and other permits.
- Can I have employees at a home business in Orinda, California?
- No. Only permanent residents may work in the business, with no employees or independent contractors. State law may allow a registered cottage food operation one full-time-equivalent employee outside the household.
- How much of my home can I use for a business in Orinda, California?
- One room, or 20% of the home's floor area where one room would be larger. Using the garage can't reduce the required covered parking.
- What home businesses are not allowed in Orinda, California?
- Orinda bans beauty parlors and barber shops, sales where buyers pick up goods at the home, restaurants, cabinet making, kennels, veterinary clinics, on-site vehicle repair, and medical and dental offices, among others.
California state protections for home-based businesses
California has no general statewide home-occupation law. Cities and counties set the rules on employees, signs, customer visits and parking. State law protects a few specific home businesses:
Family child care homes (Health & Safety Code §1597.45):
- A licensed small (up to 8 children) or large (7 to 14 children) family daycare home is a residential use by right under all local ordinances, including zoning. A city can't require a use permit.
- Cities can't charge a business license, fee or tax for operating one, and it isn't a change of occupancy under building codes.
- Local rules may apply only if they are identical to those for other homes in the same zone, whether the home is rented or owned.
Cottage food operations (Gov. Code §51035; AB 1616, effective 2013):
- Cities and counties can't prohibit home cottage food operations. They must allow them as a permitted use or through a permit limited to reasonable spacing, traffic, parking and noise standards.
- A cottage food operation has no more than one full-time-equivalent employee besides family or household members. Class A (direct sales only) is capped at $75,000 a year and Class B at $150,000, adjusted for inflation (H&S Code §113758).
- You must register (Class A) or get a permit (Class B) from the county environmental health agency.
Home kitchens selling meals (microenterprise home kitchen operations): allowed only where the city or county has authorized them, with a permit and a limit of 30 meals a day and 90 a week (§113825).
What the ordinance says
- OMC §17.3.3(A) Permitted Uses, Municipal Code Title 17 Ch. 17.3 Residential District Base Use Restrictions (17.3.4 ADUs; 17.3.7 Home occupations; 17.3.8 Keeping animals; 17.3.12 Short-term rentals), p. 1
A use classification followed by the letter "L" is a permitted use that is subject to certain limitations prescribed under the "Additional Use Regulations" which follow within this chapter.
- OMC §17.3.7(B)(6), Municipal Code Title 17 Ch. 17.3 Residential District Base Use Restrictions (17.3.4 ADUs; 17.3.7 Home occupations; 17.3.8 Keeping animals; 17.3.12 Short-term rentals), p. 1
Only the permanent residents of the dwelling may be involved in the conduct of the home occupation. There shall be no employees or independent contractors.
- OMC §17.3.7(B)(13), Municipal Code Title 17 Ch. 17.3 Residential District Base Use Restrictions (17.3.4 ADUs; 17.3.7 Home occupations; 17.3.8 Keeping animals; 17.3.12 Short-term rentals), p. 1
The home occupation shall be limited to a minor portion of the dwelling, such as one room, or twenty (20) percent of the dwelling's floor area in case where the use of one room would exceed twenty (20) percent of the dwelling's floor area.
- OMC §17.3.7(B)(2), Municipal Code Title 17 Ch. 17.3 Residential District Base Use Restrictions (17.3.4 ADUs; 17.3.7 Home occupations; 17.3.8 Keeping animals; 17.3.12 Short-term rentals), p. 1
There shall be no outside display, advertising sign, window display or storage of goods or materials that could be used to identify the business.
- OMC §17.3.7(B)(7), Municipal Code Title 17 Ch. 17.3 Residential District Base Use Restrictions (17.3.4 ADUs; 17.3.7 Home occupations; 17.3.8 Keeping animals; 17.3.12 Short-term rentals), p. 1
The use shall not generate vehicular or pedestrian traffic in excess of that normally associated with single-family use.
- OMC §17.3.7(B)(12), Municipal Code Title 17 Ch. 17.3 Residential District Base Use Restrictions (17.3.4 ADUs; 17.3.7 Home occupations; 17.3.8 Keeping animals; 17.3.12 Short-term rentals), p. 1
No more than one company vehicle, which shall be limited to a car, van or truck (three-quarter ton maximum) may be used by the applicant, directly or indirectly, in connection with the home occupation.
- OMC §17.3.7(C), Municipal Code Title 17 Ch. 17.3 Residential District Base Use Restrictions (17.3.4 ADUs; 17.3.7 Home occupations; 17.3.8 Keeping animals; 17.3.12 Short-term rentals), p. 1
Prohibited Home Occupations. Activities which are in violation of this section are prohibited. The following occupations are categorically prohibited:
- OMC §17.3.7(A)(2), Municipal Code Title 17 Ch. 17.3 Residential District Base Use Restrictions (17.3.4 ADUs; 17.3.7 Home occupations; 17.3.8 Keeping animals; 17.3.12 Short-term rentals), p. 1
Limited professional, therapeutic and educational services at the applicant's residence may also be provided pursuant to the following requirements and prohibitions.