Final Public Hearing Planned on Home Business Code Amendments

The city of Sammamish Planning Commission will continue a public hearing on code amendments proposed to regulate home businesses in the city this week.

The public hearing began in October, and continues at the Planning Commission meeting this Thursday, Dec. 1, at 6:30 p.m. at . This is expected to be the last forum for comments on the changes. At the end of the public comment period, city development staff will discuss its recommendations with  the commission.

A memo from Community Development Director Kamuron Gurol to the Planning Commission describes the goals of the amendments: 

1. Clarify the regulations for use by the city staff and the community

2. Ensure the protection of the character of residential neighborhoods

3. Focus on the desired “effect” of the regulations rather than on prescriptive items

4. Remove unnecessary impediments to economic development

5. Clarify distinctions between permitted uses and the proposed home business regulations

6. Identify “prohibited” uses clearly

7. Focus on performance standards over prescriptive regulationsand,

8. Improve the “readability” of the regulations for the community

A number of residents have expressed concerns about potential restrictions to home business activities in the code amendment, which can be seen on the city's Website.

Under the new proposed code, home-based businesses such as home offices for attorneys or photographers would be considered Type 1 home-based businesses, and operations such as wineries and home-based wholesale nurseries would be considered Type 2 home businesses. Type 2 businesses would be characterized as having some visible or audible external activity or increased traffic impacts in the neighborhood, such as frequent or large deliveries.

Type 1 businesses could operated in urban residential neighborhoods with R-1 to R-8 or R-12 to R-18 zoning and, with a conditional use permit, Type 2 businesses could operate in those areas as well.

In the Sammamish town center, Type 2 businesses would be prohibited.

At the commission's Nov. 3 meeting, Scott Fivash, who operates a winery called Fivash Cellars on his 10-acre property on 234th Ave, said he'd like to run his home-based business as a home industry (in the amended code, it would be considered a type 2 home-based business), but said restrictions on the number of buildings allowed to be used in the business and a prohibition on storing equipment outdoors could hinder his efforts, as would the inability to put up a sign that could lead customers to the property.

Sammamish artist Janet Gadallah expressed concerns about a prohibition on retail sales and proposed regulations regarding the number of vehicles visiting a home-based business for Type 1 businesses, noting that it could become difficult to sell her products or hold workshops in her home pottery studio with such restrictions.