Can I run a business from home in Woodside, California?
Yes. Woodside allows home occupations with an annual Town home occupation permit and business license, issued after public notice but without a hearing. The business must be run by no more than two residents entirely inside the house or ADU, use at most 400 sq ft (or a quarter of the home, if smaller), and have no signs or added parking demand.
| Permit | Home occupation permit, renewed annually with business license [1] |
| Who can work there | No more than two resident occupants [2] |
| Max floor area | 1/4 of the main residence or 400 sq ft, whichever is less [3] |
| Signs | No sign, show window or display [4] |
| Vehicles | Max 2 business vehicles, none larger than 3/4-ton truck [5] |
| Traffic and parking | Can't increase parking demand or significantly increase traffic [6] |
| Excluded uses | Barber and beauty shops, massage studios [7] |
What counts as a home occupation
A home occupation is an art, profession or business run entirely inside a dwelling that stays clearly incidental to living there. Typical examples are dressmakers, architects, engineers, accountants, attorneys, writers, artists and artisans, and instructors limited to one pupil at a time. Commercial service businesses such as barber shops, beauty shops and massage studios are excluded [7]. Home occupations are part of the permitted single-family residential use in the use table.
Standards
- Only two resident occupants can conduct the business. It must be carried on entirely within the main house or an ADU [2].
- The business can use no more than one-fourth of the main residence's floor area or 400 sq ft, whichever is less [3].
- You can't sell or stock products made elsewhere, and outdoor storage isn't allowed. You can park up to two business vehicles, none larger than a three-quarter-ton truck [5].
- No show window, display or sign to attract customers [4].
- No structural alterations or non-residential equipment. No noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors or electrical interference noticeable off the property.
- The business can't increase parking demand or significantly increase traffic [6].
Permit
You need a Town home occupation permit before starting. No hearing is held, but neighbors get the same notice as for a public hearing. The permit lasts one year and is renewed along with your business license [1].
State protections
State law treats a licensed family daycare home (up to 14 children) as a residential use and bars cities from requiring a use permit, business license or fee for one, so state law may override the Town's permit, business-license and two-resident limits for a licensed daycare. Cities must also allow cottage food operations, which may have one full-time-equivalent employee outside the household, so state law may override the two-resident limit for them.
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Next steps
- Confirm your business fits the home occupation definition and the 400-sq-ft / two-resident limits.
- File a home occupation permit application with the Woodside Planning Department (Town Hall, 2955 Woodside Road, 650-851-6790); the Town will send public notice.
- Get a Town business license under Chapter 110 and renew both each year.
- For a family daycare or cottage food business, also get the state license or the county environmental health registration.
Common questions
- Do I need a home occupation permit in Woodside, California?
- Yes. Woodside requires a Town home occupation permit, issued after public notice but without a hearing, plus a business license. The permit lasts one year and is renewed along with the business license.
- How much of my home can I use for a business in Woodside, California?
- No more than one-fourth of the main residence's floor area or 400 sq ft, whichever is less. The business must be carried on entirely within the main house or an ADU.
- Can I have employees at a home business in Woodside, California?
- Only two resident occupants can conduct the business. State law may override that limit for a licensed family daycare home or a cottage food operation.
- What home businesses are not allowed in Woodside, California?
- Commercial service businesses such as barber shops, beauty shops and massage studios are excluded. Home occupations also can't have signs or displays, outdoor storage, more than two business vehicles, or increased parking demand.
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
- Sec. 153.111(I), Municipal Code §153.107 Residential and commercial districts: permitted, conditional and accessory uses (Table A-1); §153.111 Home occupations
An application for a home occupation permit shall be filed with the Town . No public hearing shall be required, but the public notice shall be the same as that for public hearings as set forth in Section 153.963 of this chapter. A home occupation permit shall be valid for a period of one year and shall be renewed annually.
- Sec. 153.111(A), Municipal Code §153.107 Residential and commercial districts: permitted, conditional and accessory uses (Table A-1); §153.111 Home occupations
Such occupations shall be conducted by no more than two resident occupants entirely within either the main dwelling unit or accessory dwelling unit .
- Sec. 153.111(B), Municipal Code §153.107 Residential and commercial districts: permitted, conditional and accessory uses (Table A-1); §153.111 Home occupations
The total floor area used for home occupations shall not exceed one-fourth of the total floor area of the main residence or 400 square feet, whichever is less, regardless of where on the parcel such occupation is carried on.
- Sec. 153.111(D), Municipal Code §153.107 Residential and commercial districts: permitted, conditional and accessory uses (Table A-1); §153.111 Home occupations
There shall be no show window, window display, or sign to attract customers or clients.
- Sec. 153.111(C), Municipal Code §153.107 Residential and commercial districts: permitted, conditional and accessory uses (Table A-1); §153.111 Home occupations
No vehicle related to the home occupation larger than a three-fourths ton truck nor more than two vehicles related to the home occupation shall be parked on the premises.
- Sec. 153.111(H), Municipal Code §153.107 Residential and commercial districts: permitted, conditional and accessory uses (Table A-1); §153.111 Home occupations
A home occupation shall not cause an increase in parking demand or a significant increase in pedestrian or vehicular traffic in the vicinity.
- Sec. 153.005 (Home occupation definition), Municipal Code §153.107 Residential and commercial districts: permitted, conditional and accessory uses (Table A-1); §153.111 Home occupations
HOME OCCUPATION shall not include commercial service enterprises, such as barber shop and beauty shops and massage studios.