Petition for Approval
To obtain the approval necessary to operate a business from your residence, it is Township policy that you submit a letter to Ronald Yake, Township Planner/Zoning Officer, formally requesting such approval. Your letter should indicate your name, address, telephone number and email address (if applicable), the type of business you wish to operate and a detailed description of the proposed home based business. The letter should recite each standard (see below) as specified in the home occupation ordinance (items 1-10), followed by a clear description as to how the standard will be met. If a particular standard does not apply to your situation, an explanation should be provided as to why this is the case.

Once completed, the letter should then be sent to:
Ronald Yake, Township Planner/Zoning Officer
Township of Plainsboro
641 Plainsboro Road
Plainsboro, NJ 08536

Upon receipt of your letter, your request will be reviewed with respect to the home occupation ordinance and will either return a copy of your letter stamped “approved” or contact you for additional information.

Standards for Home Occupations & Professional Offices

• No person other than members of the family residing on the premises, plus 1 outside employee, shall be engaged in the home occupation/professional office.
• The home occupation/professional office shall be conducted entirely within the principal building.
• The use of the dwelling unit for the home occupation/professional office shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to its use for residential purposes by its occupants, and not more than 25% of the gross floor area of the principal.
• building, not including the cellar, shall be used for the home occupation/professional office.
• No more than 1 vehicle with a commercial license plate, associated with the home occupation/professional office, shall be stored at the subject residence and shall be stored off street. All construction or landscaping equipment and machinery or other materials associated with the home occupation/professional office shall be stored in a garage or storage shed. no storage containers, trailers or dumpsters shall be stored at or adjacent to the subject residence.
• The dwelling shall have no external evidence of a nonresidential use other than a small nameplate sign as prescribed in the Township Sign Ordinance, Editor's Note: See Art. XIV, Signs, of this chapter and no display of products shall be visible from the street.
• No traffic or parking shall be generated in excess of 1 passenger vehicle (PMUD and PCD Zones) and 2 passenger vehicles (all other residential zones) in addition to those used by the owner, all of which must be parked off the street.
• No mechanical or electrical equipment is used that will be detectable to the normal senses or which will create electrical or radio interference.
• No goods, chattels, materials, supplies or items of any kind shall be delivered either to or from the premises in connection with the home occupation/professional office, other than deliveries normally made by courier or mail delivery.
• There shall be no nuisance element detectable beyond the principal structure in connection with the home occupation/professional office.
• No hazardous material shall be left on the premises, not including cleaning materials routinely found in residential units.