The city of Arnold is pushing back as much as it can after a state law went into effect over the summer that eliminates nearly all restrictions on home-based businesses.
Under the new state law, which took effect Aug. 28, about two months after Gov. Mike Parson signed House Bill 1662, businesses that qualify as no-impact, home-based businesses are not required to get a license to operate in cities.
When the city required home-based businesses to get licenses, they cost $100 a year, and the city typically issued 30 to 35 each year, city clerk Tammi Casey said.
According to the new law, municipalities also are not allowed to limit the hours of operation for those businesses, require any structural modifications for the businesses to operate, restrict service by appointment, prohibit particular occupations or ban the storing of equipment at a business, that is if it does not impact the surrounding area.
While Arnold no longer can require home-based business owners to get a business license, the city does require them to sign a form stating their operations meet the definition of no-impact home-based businesses.
City Council members voted 5-0 Nov. 17 to require proof that a business is a no-impact home-based business. Ward 1 councilmen EJ Fleischmann and Jason Fulbright and Ward 4 Councilman Gary Plunk were absent from the meeting.
“That is about all we can do,” City Administrator Bryan Richison said.
A business is considered no-impact if it meets five requirements.
■ It is a legal business.
■ It does not cause a substantial increase in traffic in a residential area.
■ Business activities are not visible from any public street.
■ There is no equipment that produces noise, light, odor, smoke, gas or vibrations that can be seen, heard or smelled outside the home.
■ No goods or services are sold or provided that require an inspection by the Health Department.
If a business meets all those requirements, the city is not allowed to impose any regulations or fees for it to operate.
Richison said there is no fee connected to the form owners must complete affirming that their businesses will not impact their surroundings.
He said the general assembly underestimated the impact businesses could have on neighborhoods when the bill was created to strip local governments of their power to monitor them.
“We want some kind of mechanism to at least know what is going on and potentially spot problems,” Richison said. “If we just said if you are a no-impact business, we don’t need to hear from you, then everyone is going to say they are a no-impact business.”
He said because of the new state law, it is conceivable someone could claim that opening a retail store in their basement would not have an impact on a neighborhood.
“That doesn’t make sense,” Richison said.
He said because the city requires the form to prove a business qualifies as a no-impact home-based business, Arnold officials will be able to spot potential problems before they occur.
“If they don’t come to us up front, the first opportunity to address it is after they open and cars are flooding a neighborhood,” Richison said. “The General Assembly purposely tried to tie our hands. This is the best we can do to try and get ahead of any potential problems.”
According to the city’s new law, if someone operates a business that doesn’t meet the definition of no-impact, the owner may be fined up to $100 and sentenced to up to 90 days in jail.
Richison said he has no doubt that even before the state law went into effect, some home-based businesses were operating in Arnold without the previously required license.
He also said he believes some people will operate no-impact, home-based without filling out the newly required form.
“I don’t think there will be a huge number of cases (of illegal home-based businesses operating),” he added.
Richison also said the city will not proactively search for home-based businesses to make sure the proper rules are being followed.
However, the city will investigate home-based businesses if someone files a complaint against the owner.
“If they don’t create a problem and no one notices them, there is no way for us to identify these businesses,” Richison said. “We can’t go around investigating every house to see if they are operating some kind of business. That is not something we want to do either, to be honest.”