Changing a House to a Mixed Residential - Commercial Use

A "traditional" mixed residential and commercial occupancy is where part of the house is remodeled to create space for the business. The residential and commercial uses occupy distinct and separate areas within the same building. The arrangement is such that the residential and commercial units could potentially be rented out to separate tenants.

A "live/work" arrangement is where the layout of the existing house would remain essentially unchanged. The resident and business operator would clearly be one and the same. A classic example of what we would call live/work is an insurance agent who works out of his/her house but has a couple of employees. The layout of the house remains unchanged, and the ground floor of the house is used mostly for commercial purposes during the work day but the first floor kitchen continues to be used by the family.