Code amendments open doors to home-based businesses

The Fremont City Council approved two of three proposed changes to a zoning code amendment on Tuesday prior to unanimously passing a group of amendments intended to open Fremonts doors wider to home-based businesses and home occupations.

The council heard public opposition and support during first reading of the three zoning codes on Sept. 29, but there was no opposition on Tuesday when the council, with Kevin Eairleywine and Steve Navarrette absent, approved all three amendments.

The first amendment differentiates between home-based businesses and home occupations, a distinction that didnt exist in current codes.

Under the new language, home occupations are operations run only by people who live within the household. A home-based business, on the other hand, can have up to two employees who do not live in the home.

Creating the distinction, interim City Planner Justin Zetterman explained at an Oct. 12 council meeting, allows zoning codes to be more liberally applied to home occupations than to home-based businesses. Home occupations will be allowed in nearly all residential districts, while home-based businesses will be allowed in some districts, and require a conditional use permit in others.

The Fremont Planning Commission, on Sept. 15, voted 4-3 against that amendment, and did not bring to a vote the two ensuing amendments outlining regulations on home-based businesses and home occupations. It was the second of those two ensuing amendments where Councilman Larry Johnson on Tuesday proposed changes before voting on the amendment itself.

Johnsons first change, refining language about allowable signage at home-based businesses, passed 6-0.

His second alteration, adding tattoo parlors to the list of businesses explicitly prohibited in residential districts, passed 4-2 with Jennifer Bixby and Michael Kuhns opposed. Other prohibited businesses include stables and adult entertainment establishments.

Ive talked to no one who wants a tattoo parlor in their neighborhood, Johnson said. If were going to exclude some of those other things, I think we should make it clear that thats not something that we would be approving by our changes here.

Its not necessarily the number of people, its the atmosphere, he said. I happen to drive up Main Street when Im going anywhere, and I look at the tattoo parlor that was on Main and Military, and there are regularly folks outside that just arent enhancing the image of the community, or they wouldnt be enhancing the image of a residential neighborhood.

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Code amendments open doors to home-based businesses