PC 111407 - Laserfiche WebLink

noted that this application happens to fall under this category, and this is what the process for this category calls for. Chairperson Fox commented that if it is a difficult job for Code Enforcement to follow up on compliance with conditions, then conditional use permits should not be considered and applicants penalized because of that. Commissioner Blank indicated this was a home occupation, and he believed Code Enforcement may not enter a home without reasonable cause, even if there were a violation. Chairperson Fox believed that Code Enforcement should be able to enter homes at any time if there was conditional use permit in the home. Ms. Decker reminded the Commission that this application is not for a conditional use permit but for a home occupation permit. She advised that the Code Enforcement process operated on a complaint basis and that it was very difficult to conduct Code enforcement when a use was in a home for the reasons previously pointed out. Commissioner Pearce commented that Code Enforcement should be able to enter a home with an approved permit without a search warrant to see if conditions are being followed. Ms. Harryman noted that Code Enforcement would have no problem getting into the business that is open to the public. She noted, however, that entering someone’s home was trickier and that a warrant may be required to get in because the person would be entering not just the one room from where the business is operating but the home itself. Commissioner Pearce inquired why there would be conditions for a home occupation if there were no way to get in to the home short of a warrant. Commissioner Blank noted that conditions can be placed on the project, even if they are difficult to enforce. He added that sunset clauses are also difficult to enforce. Ms. Decker noted that a sunset clause may be added as a condition if the Commission so desired. She noted that the first condition of approval stated that the business shall be operated in substantial compliance with the business proposal. She noted that it is difficult for a Code Enforcement officer to determine if the conditions are being met because he would have to enter a home to check if any room other than the bedroom is being used for storage, or if deliveries are being made in another location which would then need its own home occupation permit. She added that in the same manner, with respect to the condition on driveway parking, it would be difficult to determine whether someone pulling into the driveway was a resident, a relative, or a client. Ms. Mendez noted that often wholesalers will not sell to a retail or home business unless that business had a business license. She added that non-exempt home occupations without permits are often businesses with limited activities and do not require a business license. In response to an inquiry by Commissioner Blank regarding Code Enforcement visits in a home, Ms. Harryman believed the courts would set a different expectation of privacy in a home-based business as opposed to a storefront. She noted that a business could go from exempt to non-exempt, such as a minor arts and crafts business that starts with a simple knitting business PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, November 14, 2007 Page 11 of 34