EVERETT — A deciding vote on expanding at-home businesses has been pushed out for later at the City Council’s request.
A public hearing will be held at the Sept. 8 City Council meeting.
Last week, council members also weighed in on the finer points on suggestions before them to edit the at-home businesses rulebook.
Everett already allows certain at-home businesses.
The proposed rule changes would newly allow clinics, barber/beauty shops, real estate offices and other offices that receive visits from clients, such as architects, lawyers or insurance agents. Child care centers are already allowed. It also allows up to two non-resident employees to work from the residence.
A majority of council members have expressed discomfort with also adding retail sales operations to the list of at-home businesses. Many said last week they’d like to limit retail operations.
Retail might ultimately be allowed as an “incidental” purpose of the business. An example of incidental sales would be a home salon that happens to sell shampoo bottles, city economic development manager Dan Eernissee said.
Eliminating retail completely would neuter the ordinance, Councilman Scott Bader said.
Councilwoman Judy Tuohy said the associated impacts of a retail operation, from traffic to product delivery, need to be seriously considered.
Council members also have concerns about traffic and parking.
The proposed rules would allow up to 10 client visits per day, and at-home businesses would be allowed to have up to two non-resident employees working at the home business.
Councilwoman Liz Vogeli wondered if the rules could eliminate any car allowance, as people could walk to neighborhood businesses. Vogeli noted that apartment dwellers, who equally could run at-home businesses, face parking limitations.
Vogeli also inquired about how produce gardens can flourish if the rules are that products must be made indoors. Outdoor manufacturing and warehousing is currently prohibited at at-home businesses. The rule is also to prevent at-home business owners from stockpiling goods outside.
The businesses can only operate from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays.
Allowing up to two non-resident employees is to help small businesses “scale up” easier before the leap to operating from a commercially leased space. Currently under the code, hiring your first employee triggers the requirement to move the business to a commercial building.
Every home business would be operated by the residents who live in the residence. In every case, at-home business operations are meant to be a secondary use to living in the residence. These stipulations are to prevent people from turning houses into fully commercial spaces.
Previous coverage:
EVERETT — The city sees an opportunity to expand local goods and foster entrepreneurship by widening what kinds of at-home businesses can operate. Council members have expressed hesitancy toward home-based retail and merchandise sellers due to street traffic and on-street parking use in neighborhoods, as well as that allowing retail includes allowing gun and ammunition sales from home-based shops. The City Council is set to make a few decisions on this at its Wednesday, Sept. 8 meeting.
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