Planning staff presented a proposed rural services/contractor‑use ordinance and a rewritten home‑occupation framework aimed at reconciling existing nonconforming home businesses with a clear regulatory pathway for growth.

Staff described three tiers: (1) a minimal home occupation by‑right use with no externally noticeable impacts; (2) trades/contractor home occupations by‑right to a reasonable scale and subject to limits (staff suggested a placeholder limit of five employees and five commercial vehicles while soliciting feedback); and (3) larger rural services or contractor uses that would require a special‑use permit and case‑by‑case evaluation. As staff framed it, the goal is to allow home‑grown businesses room to grow without automatically triggering rezoning while providing tools to manage neighbor impacts.

Commissioners discussed thresholds, enforcement, and grandfathering of existing uses. One commissioner noted that a business license or registration could give the county more visibility into local businesses, but staff and other members pointed out statutory and administrative limits on mandatory registration and enforcement. Commission members suggested a standing committee or further workshops to refine the details and to merge staff drafts with earlier work done by other commissioners before the next advertised public hearing.

Direction: staff will reconcile the draft with existing ordinance language, consider thresholds and grandfathering language consistent with state code for nonconforming uses, and return a revised draft for further discussion and public hearing scheduling.