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<br />p <br />p <br /> <br />L <br />R <br /> <br />N <br />T <br /> <br />A <br />A <br /> <br />N <br />C <br /> <br />ner with Bucks County. <br />According to the model or- <br />dinance, "a home occupation <br />must be conducted within a <br />single-family detached dwell- <br />ing which is the bona fide resi- <br />dence of the principal practi- <br />tioner,' and may use up to 25 <br />percent of the ground floor. <br />The ordinance then sets spe- <br />cific use standards, with lim- <br />its on outside employees, num- <br />bers of customers or clients, <br />and required parking spaces <br />for each category. <br />Beauty and barber shops are <br />allowed as conditional uses <br />provided they have no more <br />than two chairs and employ <br />only one nonresident em- <br />ployee. A tutor may teach math <br />or reading to four students at <br />a time, but a music instructor <br />must limit his or her classes to <br />two students. A craftsman who <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />G <br />E <br /> <br />13 <br /> <br />A tutor IDay teach math or reading <br />to four students at a time, but a <br />music instructor"must limit his or <br />her classes to two students. <br /> <br />builds furniture in his garage <br />may employ one helper and is <br />allowed to sell finished prod- <br />ucts from home. Homeowners <br />may not repair cars or trucks <br />on their property but are al- <br />lowed to open repair shops for <br />"appliances, lawn mowers, <br /> <br /> <br />N <br />C <br /> <br />watches, guns, bicycles, locks <br />and small business machines.' <br />The ordinance, with a few <br />minor tweaks, has been adopted <br />by Haycock and Milford town- <br />ships and Trumbauersville Bor- <br />ough. Later this spring the or- <br />dinance will also go into effect <br />in Richland Township. Assis- <br />tant township manager Layne <br />Turner says, "This ordinance <br />gives us a lot of discretion. If <br />an issue comes up, we'd rather <br />err on the side of the indi- <br />vidual who has the small busi- <br />ness. " Richland Township !pop. <br />9,543) does not require per- <br />mits for home businesses, but <br />will issue one, free of charge, <br />to any home-based entrepre- <br />neur who asks for it. <br /> <br />We'll permit that <br />Home occupation permits are <br />required in Richfield, Wiscon- <br />sin !pop. 10,000), as a way to <br />legitimize long-time businesses <br />and to close down unwanted <br />ones. According to Richfield's <br />planning and zoning adminis- <br />trator, Jeffrey Retzlaff, AICP, <br />the once-rural community had <br />not updated the home busi- <br />ness section of its code since <br />1956 "and we knew we had a <br />lot of businesses operating here <br />that weren't even close to con- <br />forming. " <br />Many of those were well- <br /> <br />drillers, landscapers, and con. <br />struction company owners op- <br />erating their businesses on <br />former farms. "Rather then peg <br />these home business owners <br />as violators, we decided to sur- <br />vey what people were doing <br />now, then craft a new set of <br />rules and regulations around <br />those uses," Retzlaff says. <br />There is one exception. To <br />the surprise of local officials, <br />Retzlaff's staff learned that 18 <br />local residents had federal per- <br />mits to sell firearms from their <br />homes. The new ordinance, <br />adopted in 1998, prohibits the <br />resale of guns and gun pow- <br />der, but Retzkaff says he has <br />no plans to inform the viola- <br />tors himself. Federal firearm <br />permits require the sanction <br />of local governments, and <br />Richfield has told the FBI that <br />it will no longer allow such <br />enterprises. "It will be a hot <br />issue when the first federal <br />license comes up for renewal," <br />Retzlaff says. <br />Those who want to conduct <br />a home business in Richfield <br />must apply for a "minor" or <br />"major" home occupation per- <br />mit. The ordinance does not <br />list specific occupations, but <br />provides performance stan- <br />dards for each category. For <br />$25, Retzlaff's office will is- <br />sue a minor permit to any busi- <br />