Hillsborough's zoning code has long treated a fundraiser as a special case. On the residential use list, a fundraising event held under a Chapter 5.16 permit sits among the few activities allowed with a special permit, next to home businesses, private schools and commercial film shoots. The rule turned on why people were gathering.
The Town is now writing a different test. Under the concepts presented to the City Council, what triggers a permit is how many people are expected, not what they came for. Each residence would also get a fixed number of large events per calendar year. For anyone weighing a Hillsborough estate partly for its ability to host, that limit applies to the house itself, and every large gathering draws from it.
Where the line sits in the code today
The residence district's permitted uses are short and specific. They cover the single-family home and its accessory structures, country clubs, Town facilities, public schools, utilities and second units. A separate category lists uses that need a special permit. The Title 17 zoning code posted on the Town's site also says plainly that Hillsborough has no use permit system. A use either fits one of those categories or it does not.
That layout made sense when "residential, noncommercial" described how most homes were used. When the Council's ad hoc subcommittee first reported, it said that assumption was out of date. Its staff report pointed to advances in technology and the wider acceptance of remote work during the pandemic. It said strictly limiting Hillsborough residences to "residential, noncommercial" uses "may be outdated."
The Council formed that subcommittee on August 11, 2025, and appointed Vice Mayor Leslie Ragsdale and Councilmember Laurie Davies Adams. City Manager Doug Davis and Assistant City Attorney Mark Hudak served as staff liaisons, and the group met four times before bringing its concepts forward. It looked at two issues together: work done from home, and gatherings too large for a home to absorb quietly.
A head count where the purpose used to be
The events concepts went to a Council study session on November 17, 2025. The study-session staff report stated two aims: limit the effect of large events on neighboring properties, and reimburse the Town for the oversight those events require.
The concepts compare to the current structure like this:
| Current code structure | 2025 study-session concept | |
|---|---|---|
| What needs a permit | A fundraising event, under Chapter 5.16 | Any event where 100 or more people are expected, or the host is preparing for that many |
| Does the purpose matter? | Yes, the permit category is fundraising | No, the rules would be content-neutral |
| How many per year | No annual cap appears in the use list | Up to four per residence per calendar year |
| Who approves | Chapter 5.16 permit process | Town staff, usually the City Clerk, with appeals to the City Manager |
The content-neutral language is broad. The report lists fundraising, charitable, political, social, family, business and neighborhood functions and says each would be "treated in similar fashion." Under that framework, a daughter's wedding reception, a charity gala and a block party at the same address would all fall under the same rule once the expected guest list reaches 100.
The four belong to the house, not the host
The cap is where this changes how a property is used. The concept caps each "Town residence" at four Special Events per calendar year. The same report defines "Town residence" to include the main house plus its garages, ADUs and other buildings on the property. A guest cottage or a converted carriage house would not give a property a second set of four.
The cap counts gatherings, so every 100-person gathering competes for the same slots. A household that hosts two charity evenings in the spring has two left for the rest of the year, whatever those later events are. Before, a fundraiser was handled as a fundraiser. Under the concept, it is one of four.
The exemptions point the same way. The report says the Council could exempt established locations with significant onsite parking that hold events regularly. Its examples are public and private schools, the Hillsborough Racquet Club, Burlingame Country Club, the annual Fun Run and Town-sponsored events. In practice, the places built for large crowds could keep doing what they do, while private homes would host big events under a set yearly allowance.
What a permit application asks of a host
The study-session concept would require a host to apply at least 15 business days before the event. The application would cover:
- The number of attendees
- Parking and traffic safety plans
- Insurance
- Outdoor entertainment
- Temporary outdoor structures
Fifteen business days is about three calendar weeks. For a large outdoor event, that deadline would likely fall after the tent, the band and the caterer are already booked, since those are the details the form asks about. Staff could attach "reasonable conditions," with valet parking and time limits given as examples. A permit fee would cover staff processing time, input from police, fire and Public Works, and staff time observing or assisting at the event when needed.
Under the concept, events would also become public in advance. Applications would be posted on the Town's website soon after they arrive and before a permit is issued. Telling neighbors directly would be encouraged but not required. The report says the goal is to avoid conflicts between competing events and give neighbors time to prepare. Skipping the permit would be an infraction with a fine of three times the permit fee. Repeated violations could lead to permit denials for a year.
The same definition reaches the home office
The home-business concepts use the same broad idea of a residence, and they head in the opposite direction from the events rules. The events rules tighten. The home-business rules give more room to work that already happens in Hillsborough homes. The report describes the aim as allowing home-based business "consistent with the single-family residential zoning" while protecting the Town's residential character.
Under the concepts:
- A business run from a Town residence would need a Town business permit under Chapter 5.06 and would pay the taxes and fees in Chapter 5.04.
- A business based outside Town would not need a license when the home is used only for "incidental and occasional" work. Neither would a corporation or LLC whose only purpose is to hold title to the home.
- One full-time-equivalent employee could work on site if that person parks on the property. Household staff, including a gardener, nanny or au pair, housecleaner, private chef or property manager, would not count toward that limit.
- Occasional meetings and deliveries would be fine. Regular meetings with several attendees parking off the lot, or frequent deliveries for the business, would not.
Because garages and ADUs count as part of the residence, a detached studio used as an office falls under the same rules as a spare bedroom. For a buyer, the questions shift. The issue is less whether a home office is allowed at all and more whether a planned business fits the one-employee, on-lot parking and normal-traffic tests.
Where each ordinance sits on the Town calendar
The two measures have moved at different speeds. The Council's October 12, 2026 agenda scheduled introduction of an ordinance amending Chapter 5.06 and Sections 17.16.015 and 17.16.020 on home businesses. The November 9, 2026 agenda placed adoption of that ordinance on the consent calendar.
The same November 9 agenda set a public hearing to introduce the events ordinance. That ordinance would add a new Chapter 17.18 on special events, delete Chapter 5.16 and Section 17.16.020(E), and amend several sections of Title 17. If that ordinance completes introduction and a later adoption vote, it would delete Chapter 5.16 and the fundraising-only permit, and a content-neutral events chapter would replace them.
The 100-guest threshold, the cap of four, the 15-business-day lead time and the fine described above come from the November 2025 study session. The subcommittee said at the time that it would gather input and then draft formal code amendments. The events ordinance is at the introduction stage and is not yet law. Its final terms will be whatever the Council adopts, and those terms may differ from the 2025 concepts. Each step is listed on the Council agendas linked above. This post is general information, not legal advice. Anyone planning a large event or a home-based business in Hillsborough should confirm the current rules with the Town and their own attorney.
If you are weighing a Hillsborough property partly for how you plan to entertain or work there, those plans belong in the comparison along with the floor plan. Comaroto Properties can help you think through how a particular estate's parking, outbuildings and layout fit Hillsborough's changing rules on events and home businesses. Request a personalized consultation.
