A change in Lexington’s zoning law to allow for hair dressing and hair cutting businesses in the home is moving forward. Members of the Council’s Planning and Public Safety Committee advanced such a zone text amendment Tuesday. Autumn Goderwis, senior planner for the Board of Adjustment, said these home businesses are inspected annually. Conditional use requirements include things like hours of operation and number of customers at the house. “Other things that can trigger an additional inspection would be if we receive citizen complaints about those conditions are not being met or that there’s an extreme amount of traffic, or something like that,” said Goderwis.
Goderwis said that could prompt a visit by a zoning enforcement officer. Other existing home-based businesses are yoga, piano lessons, and nutrition counseling.
Council Member Amanda Mays Bledsoe asked if other requests might be forthcoming. “I know this is an issue as more and more has happened because of COVID, so I’m just curious, the precedence-setting of this. Are there other groups who want exemptions similar to this, or is there any considerations outside of just, the hair,” asked Mays Bledsoe.
Goderwis said more requests for changes are anticipated. She said such a home-based business does require a conditional use. That involves a public hearing and annual inspections.
