Start a Business
For anyone wishing to start a business in West Mead Township there are various zoning regulations in place depending on the property location.
If you are interested in a commercial property or wanting to develop a Commercial Business on a property, further approvals may be necessary depending on the zoning district where the property is located. More information is available in the West Mead Township Zoning Ordinance or by contacting the Zoning Officer.
If you live on a property you wish to develop, you may fall under the following as a No Impact Home Based Business as long as you can comply with the following regulations. A “no impact home based business” according to state regulations is one that authorizes certain types of uses as long as they conform to the standards. If you can comply with these standards, then you do not need to do anything further and we could consider this a permitted use. If you will not be in compliance with these standards, or if your business would grow into more or you wish to have a sign or advertise, etc., then you would need to come before the Zoning Hearing Board as a Special Exception for a Home Occupation or Home Lot Occupation which would require a hearing. More information is available in the West Mead Township Zoning Ordinance or by contacting the Zoning Officer.
“No-impact home-based business,” is a business or commercial activity administered or conducted as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential dwelling and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic, whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions to or from the premises, in excess of those normally associated with residential use. The business or commercial activity must satisfy the following requirements:
(1) The business activity shall be compatible with the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses.
(2) The business shall employ no employees other than family members residing in the dwelling.
(3) There shall be no display or sale of retail goods and no stock piling or inventory of a substantial nature.
(4) There shall be no outside appearance of a business use, including, but not limited to, parking, signs or lights.
(5) The business activity may not use any equipment or process which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors or electrical or electronic interference, including interference with radio or television reception, which is detectable in the neighborhood.
(6) The business activity may not generate any solid waste or sewage discharge, in volume or type, which is not normally associated with residential use in the neighborhood.
(7) The business activity shall be conducted only within the dwelling and may not occupy more than 25% of the habitable floor area.
(8) The business may not involve any illegal activity.
You may also wish to check with an attorney, the state, the department of health and PA DEP as they may have additional requirements as well as if you are located in a subdivision, it may have deed restrictions governing home businesses.