If you followed all the rules and “best practices” before starting your home business, you did a diligent check on any zoning and licensing regulations and laws that might apply to you. If you passed the muster you could easily think that part of your business operation is behind you. Laws change, however, and zoning regulations can do. Neighborhoods are constantly being re-zoned and city regulations can change as well. It might be a good idea to do a periodic check-up on the zoning of your home and look into how any changes might affect your home business.
I know, you might be thinking, “but I don’t WANT to know!” It can be such a headache for some of us to deal with zoning and licensing laws that once we’ve put it behind us in our home business start-up, we just want to be done with it for good. Burying our heads in the sand can get us in a lot of trouble, however, and it really is better to check and see if there are any changes once a year, or once every couple of years just to make sure we are in compliance.
If you have an attorney that you work with regular regarding your business, you can have the attorney check into the zoning periodically. Remember, zoning is a county, city, or municipal reality–it doesn’t come from the state or federal government. This is why zoning can be completely different for you than for your neighbor who lives one block over. There might be city-wide zoning laws that affect you, and additional ones within your neighborhood or community. And, these can change for a variety of reasons. To check on zoning, you’ll want to check in with your local zoning office, city hall, or whatever office handles zoning in your town or community.
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