Seattle extends COVID-era rules for home-based businesses

Seattle has permanently adopted another COVID-era tweak, this time one aimed at helping home-based businesses.

Driving the news: The Seattle City Council recently passed Bill 120520, also known as "Bringing Business Home."

• Some of the changes being made permanent include: the elimination of restrictions on the number of non-resident employees; the elimination of restrictions on the number of daily deliveries allowed; and the removal of the requirement that customer visits be by appointment only.
• The measures were first introduced to give home-based businesses the flexibility they needed to continue operating while adhering to COVID-19 safety regulations.

What they're saying: "I see this as a small clean up that reflects the changing times so that the land use code is not a barrier to entrepreneurs turning their dreams into reality," Councilmember Dan Strauss told Axios.

• “We need to support small businesses and micro businesses, providing them the flexibility to operate out of their garages and helping them springboard into brick-and-mortar store fronts," he said.

The big picture: The bill joins a number of other measures that started out as ways to help businesses get through the pandemic but proved helpful and popular beyond their original intent.

• Earlier this year, the state passed a new law that allows bars and restaurants to continue to sell beer, wine, and mixed drinks to-go at least through July while the Liquor Control Board studies the impact.

• And just last week, the city council permanently approved a pandemic-era policy that had temporarily exempted affordable housing from design review, streamlining the building process.

What we're watching: The exact number of businesses affected is not immediately known as the city does not track whether a business is home-based, according to the Office of Economic Development.

• But Strauss said the measure will undoubtedly help incubate many small businesses going forward.