opening a business in a "house"/residential section (Union City: apartment, rental)

[nowitsshowtime]

Does anyone have any idea about this in Union City or Hudson County.

If I were looking into opening a small establishment on the ground floor of my house, and I can totally section it off from the upper floors, is this feasible at all or highly unlikely.

For some reason I feel like this is not an easy thing to do, but then I think of other places where I see internet cafe's, ski shops, dentists, all operating out of a regular house.

[armx]

It all depends on the zoning for the property on which the "house" stands. Every house is not what it seems, its use is governed by zoning.

You may want to visit the City govt. - planning Dept. or zoning Administrator - and find the zoning for the property and determine the uses allowed in that zoning -- don't forget to check conditional uses. Dentist is considered a professional, so that is different type of use than, say, Internet cafe, ski shop which would be considered retail -commercial.

If what you intend to use the house a is a use "by right" then you can go ahead with your intentions ... Business licenses will be the next step.

[Dingo99]

What kind of business are you looking to run?

If money is tight and you want to start a business, its a great idea to have an apt overhead that you can live in if needed, and get rental $$$ every month from when you eventually move out.

[gradstudent77]

Originally Posted by nowitsshowtime

Does anyone have any idea about this in Union City or Hudson County.

If I were looking into opening a small establishment on the ground floor of my house, and I can totally section it off from the upper floors, is this feasible at all or highly unlikely.

For some reason I feel like this is not an easy thing to do, but then I think of other places where I see internet cafe's, ski shops, dentists, all operating out of a regular house.

It depends on the zoning and I'd have to believe that it is very, very unlikely that your house is zoned for what you want to do. I say this because, generally, commercial uses pay more rent than residential uses. If you bought the house and no one mentioned that you could use it the way you want to now, then I doubt it can be done according to existing zoning.

Check if your house is zoned for it. If your house is not zoned for it, then you need to apply for a variance from the board of adjustment. Its sort of an annoying process for the average joe, but its the sort of thing that a businessperson pushes through.

If you decided to operate the business without getting approval, you will likely face stiff fines if a single one of your neighbors decides to call the town to complain about the extra traffic or people coming to the new business down the street.

[nowitsshowtime]

Thanks for the input. No way I would do this without being zoned for it or having approval from the city.

Given my neighborhood I think it seems highly unlikely, but next step is to go to the city. I'd have to also get permits to change the apartment around to make it suitable for anything for retail or consumption.

Although, there is a bodega on the corner which very well could have been a house at one point, just converted to a store, so maybe tehre is hope. Also a bakery and other shops on the street behind me.

Now that I think about it, there is also a towing company that operates out of the large garage and is right in the middle of a pretty residential area.

[BobKovacs]

You'll also have to consider fire ratings between the commercial and residential use, accessibility for handicapped folks, and a host of other issues that come into play with commercial uses. All of this could add big $$ to your plans.