Orange County NC Website
F) f1 <br />In Figure b), the accessory building is restricted to the rear of <br />the property, most of which is open and highly visible from the <br />rear adjoining property. The setbacks, low square footage, and <br />screening requirements would serve to minimize impacts of the <br />activity. There are other portions of the property, however, <br />such as the southwest corner, within which the home occupation <br />activity could be nestled within a wooded area, to be even less <br />intrusive. Use of this area is not an option, however, because <br />the home occupation must be located at least 30 feet behind the <br />residence. <br />It may be appropriate for larger accessory structures; i.e., <br />those close to the 2,000 square foot limit, to be located to the <br />rear of the residence or a substantial distance from the road to <br />avoid a sense of crowding or business -like atmosphere along <br />residential roads. However, structures smaller than 1,000 square <br />feet, which would also be allowed on smaller lots, must meet the <br />same setbacks as the structures larger than 1,000 square feet. <br />Also, site features such as dense screening by existing <br />vegetation are not taken into account. <br />Size of Structure <br />The existing regulations limit the square footage of the <br />structure within which a home occupation is located, regardless <br />of how much of the building is used for the home occupation. <br />(Example - A large barn within which a small area is to be <br />converted to a workshop.) This may eliminate the possibility of <br />using existing structures for home occupation purposes, even if <br />the area used for the home occupation and building setbacks meet <br />applicable standards. <br />Proposed Changes <br />The following changes to standards for Home occupations in the <br />AR, RB and R1 zoning districts are proposed: <br />- Rounding of the break point between large and small <br />lots from 200,000 square feet (4.5 acres) to an even 5 <br />acres; <br />Applying the same setback requirement to all home <br />occupation accessory structures smaller than 1000 <br />square feet, <br />Requiring a minimum setback of 30 feet for home <br />occupation accessory buildings between 1000 and 1099 <br />square feet, and increasing that setback by 10 feet for <br />each 100 square feet thereafter to the maximum size of <br />2000 square feet. (Accessory buildings larger than <br />1000 square feet would still require a lot size of at <br />least 5 acres.) <br />- Requiring a minimum setback of 30 feet for a 500 to 549 <br />square -foot outdoor storage area and increasing that <br />setback by 10 feet for each 50 square feet thereafter <br />