Work-from-home revolution spurs County Councilmembers to act on home occupation regulations

October 26, 2021

Summary

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn’s motion asking for a review and update of home occupation regulations in King County passed out of the Local Services Committee Tuesday. This legislation would make sure home occupation regulations contemplate recent changes in the work environment, including the rise of remote work, changing employee preferences and technological shifts.

Story

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn’s motion asking for a review and update of home occupation regulations in King County passed out of the Local Services Committee Tuesday. This legislation would make sure home occupation regulations contemplate recent changes in the work environment, including the rise of remote work, changing employee preferences and technological shifts.

In order to limit the negative impacts of commercial activity on surrounding neighborhoods, businesses that operate in homes in unincorporated King County are required to comply with various home occupation requirements. However, the pandemic ushered in a major economic shift where more people than ever are now working from their homes as home-based employees, workers in the gig economy, or one of almost a million new small businesses formed last year.

“I could not be more glad that my colleagues on the Local Services Committee agree with me in thinking that we must act now to address the shift in home occupation we are seeing,” Dunn said. “With this massive shift  in working situations due to the pandemic, and the general desire of many of our residents to work from home, we as a county must ensure that our codes are updating with the times.”

Over one-third of households nationwide reported working from home more frequently than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the biggest companies in King County are shifting to a hybrid or complete work from home model. In addition, unlicensed home businesses have become more common as people have had to rapidly adapt to employment changes, making a code update necessary.

The review of King County home occupation regulations and code update would consider business uses that are permitted and prohibited; whether employer work from home policies require changes in the code; and whether standards related to number of employees, client and customer visits, and traffic impacts remain appropriate.

Dunn’s legislation will next be heard at the Full Council on November 9th, 2021.