Pinal County is rewriting the section of its zoning code that governs businesses run from home, and residents have until 5 p.m. Aug. 23 to comment on the draft.

The update would apply across unincorporated Pinal County, including the unincorporated San Tan Valley area. It would not apply to homes inside the Town of San Tan Valley, which is not governed by county zoning. County residents can read the draft and leave a comment at pinal.gov/HomeBasedBusiness, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call 520-866-6507.

The county says the number of home-based businesses has grown sharply over the past five years, and the current code does not give planners enough criteria to judge how a business affects neighboring properties. The rewrite is meant to catch up with that growth and with the wider range of businesses people now run from home.

What Would Change

The current code, written under the older name "home occupation," limits a home business to the dwelling or an accessory building of no more than 400 square feet, bans all outdoor storage, and issues permits only to a full-time resident of the home. The draft loosens several of those rules while adding new ones:

• A new name and permit. "Home occupation" becomes "home-based business," with the permit issued by the Community Development Director. A tenant could hold the permit with the property owner's consent. The permit would still belong to the person, not the property, and would end if the owner or tenant changes.

• Limited outdoor storage. Materials could be stored outside on up to 10% of the lot, outside front and side setbacks, screened by a solid wall, wood fence, or opaque enclosure, with stored items no taller than seven feet. Today's code allows no outdoor storage at all.

• No more square-footage cap. The draft drops the 400-square-foot accessory building limit and the rule that a business can use no more than one-quarter of one story of the home. Instead, the business must stay inside a fully enclosed building, apart from the storage allowance.

• Set delivery hours. Commercial deliveries would be allowed only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

• A hazardous materials ban. Toxic, explosive, flammable, radioactive, and similar materials could not be used, sold, or stored on the property.

• A second path for rural properties. A home business in a rural zoning district that cannot meet the standards could ask the Board of Supervisors for a special use permit, with its own limits: no more than three employees gathered on site at a time, no more than five commercial deliveries a day, and client visits only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

The draft also removes the current code's list of business types banned from operating at home, which includes auto repair, barbershops, beauty salons, commercial food preparation, tattoo parlors, welding, and veterinary or pet grooming services. The county's redlined draft strikes that entire list, so those businesses would no longer be barred outright and would instead need to meet the same standards as any other home-based business.

What Stays the Same

Several core limits carry over. A home business could still employ no more than two people who do not live in the home, serve no more than five clients a day and no more than two at a time, and offer no overnight stays. Parking must stay on site without commercial striping or wheel stops, and the only sign allowed is a temporary one no larger than 24 inches by 24 inches, displayed during business hours. The business must remain clearly secondary to the home's use as a residence and cannot change the neighborhood's residential or rural character.

What It Means for Current Permit Holders

Anyone who already holds a home occupation permit would keep it under the new code, unless the business shuts down or the home changes owners or tenants. The new standards would apply to new home businesses once the Board of Supervisors adopts the code.

Residents in unincorporated areas can still apply for a home occupation permit today through the county's Citizen Access Portal at aca-prod.accela.com/PINAL. The application sits under the Planning section, listed as Home Occupation, and requires creating an account.

How to Comment

Comments are open through 5 p.m. Aug. 23 at pinal.gov/HomeBasedBusiness, by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by phone at 520-866-6507. After the comment period closes, the draft goes to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors for adoption. 

Proposed Pinal County Home-Based Business Ordinances shown below:

Existing Pinal County Home-Based Business Ordinance shown below