Home based businesses and ZoneSJ

Zoning can provide economic opportunities by making it legal to run home-based businesses.

Why this is important. Home-based business makes it easier for low-income residents to launch their own small businesses and participate in the economy.

What ZoneSJ gets right. ZoneSJ allows a number of home-based occupations (depending on the form of housing, such as single dwelling residential) throughout the city.

ZoneSJ allows home-based daycares, providing an affordable form of childcare as well as home-based employment opportunities. This helps both daycare operators and their clients (especially the working poor).

Issues and opportunities. Section 9 of ZoneSJ does not allow a multi-unit building to host more than one home-based business. For example, it forbids the operation of a home daycare and a business office in the same multi-unit building.

The list of allowed occupations in ZoneSJ is very specific, and may exclude a wide range of acceptable businesses and professions.

Cheat sheet for your feedback. If you want to provide feedback on this issue, feel free to use or edit the statements below:

Simple version
Please let people run home-based businesses in as many types of residences as possible. Do not limit the types of businesses people can run from their homes, unless they interfere with the ability of others to enjoy their property.

More detailed version

  1. Clarify the language in Section 9 to ensure that multiple home-based businesses are permitted in a multi-unit building, as long as those businesses do not interfere with each other and do not impair other residents’ enjoyment of their personal spaces.
  2. Make the list of allowed occupations more general and inclusive. Consider a permissive model that disallows specific occupations that may be undesirable or problematic.

The deadline for your feedback to the City on ZoneSJ is Friday November 29th. Submit your input to (via webform, or in writing to planning@saintjohn.ca). And copy your councillors.

Leave a Reply