"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I've been working for months to set up a small steel fabrication business
out of my home. Today I stopped by City Hall in the bucolic little suburb
I live in and found out that they certainly allow businesses in homes, but
none with welding. Ack. Anyone run into this before?

GWE

Yep. The less you tell city hall about what you do, the better. Depending
on your neighborhood, you can conduct business of a sort. I did it for
years, but I was on a rural ranch estate zoning, a RRE1, which has a minimum
lot size of one acre, and allows horses. Everyone in the neighborhood was
in some kind of business, and all had trucks and/or some type of equipment.
So, no one complained. And there is the rub. As long as no one complains,
all goes well. But, when the first one complains, there you go.

I would imagine that you could do some work if you don't have close nosy
irritable types of neighbors. After that, it's a craps shoot.

Welding and fabricating businesses are usually delegated to a M1 zone, which
is for manufacturing. Lots of guys have home garage shops and do some work.
Some keep the doors shut, and it is impossible to tell what they are doing
in there. It is just when you cause additional traffic coming into the
neighborhood, parking problems, onsite or on street storage/parking of
equipment or projects, increases in the noise levels, and such that zoning
and permits become involved.

A lot depends on your neighborhood. And your neighbors.

Grant, meet City Hall. City Hall, meet Grant.

Steve