Dracut’s home biz bylaw rides national trend

A change to the zoning bylaws approved at Dracut’s June Town Meeting has created a mini business boom, thanks to some entrepreneurial town residents.

According to Town Manager Ann Vandal, voters in June amended the zoning bylaws to allow “home occupations” by right in residential districts.

“Believe it or not, since the adoption of that amendment, we’ve had 60 new businesses come into town operating out of their homes,” Vandal recently told the Board of Selectmen.

“It’s an interesting list that goes anywhere from people opening up online services, trades and personal services. It’s worked out really well,” she said.

The bylaw change was a response to economic pressures that COVID-19 produced.

Dracut’s home-business bonanza reflects a nationwide remote-working trend.

If your employer requires you to work from home, why shouldn’t you be the boss of your own home-based business? For many, it has allowed them to follow socialdistancing guidelines while still creating another source of income.

Sba.gov estimates that almost half of the country’s small businesses — about 15 million — are run from home, so it’s clear that home-based startups are more common than previously thought.

And this pandemic has spawned a record number of these enterprises.

In the third quarter of 2020, small business creation increased nationwide by 50% over the previous three months.

It’s estimated that most small businesses can be set up on a relatively modest budget – less than $5,000 on average.

And as for the bottom line, according to Payscale, a small-business owner’s annual income averages about $68,000 – not bad for a sideline or even a sole source of income.

And that’s more money directly in your pocket, since expenses like office space, utilities and transportation are minimal.

And if you have a dedicated home work space, a portion of it should be tax deductible.

And as in Dracut’s case, communities across the country have been updating their zoning bylaws that had restricted or prevented the operation of home-based businesses.

According to the McClatchy-tribune newspapers, the right to operate a home-based business has morphed into a bipartisan national campaign, uniting politicians and advocates from across the political spectrum, including progressives, pro-business conservatives and free-market libertarians.

And all those businesses across the country probably operate by the same rules as those in Dracut.

There, home occupations are allowed “as of right” — meaning without a special permit — if operated solely within the home, an existing accessory building or at an offsite location such as a client’s office.

The business must be solely operated by the occupant of the residence.

Under the zoning bylaw, the business must also:

■ Be clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the premises for residential purposes.

■ Not produce offensive noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odor, heat, lighting, electrical interference, radioactive emission or environmental pollution.

■ Not exhibit any exterior indication of its presence or any variation from residential appearance.

■ Be registered as a business with the town clerk.

However, all these encouraging developments come with one significant caveat.

According to statistics published in 2019 by the Small Business Administration, about 20% of business startups fail in the first year.

About half shut down within five years. And by year 10, only about 33% survive.

But in Dracut and many other communities, at least every prospective small-business owner has the opportunity to succeed or fail.

And that’s the way it should be.