UnGodly Zoning: A Non-weird Hypo

[Sanford Levinson]

Brooks Fudenberg writes:

Thus, they could ban commercial activities, under a theory that
>if not banned, *some* commercial activity will become very successful, and
>place a traffic burden on the community.  Moreover, once you start
>charging, you have entered the stream of commerce, where regulation is
>given freer range than in the home.
>
But, on the assumption that the Barnes Foundation doesn't charge its
visitors, how precisely is it a "commercial activity"?  Is the difference
that no one would describe the Barnes Foundation (at present) as "a home"?
But this gets us into all sorts of meta-questions about what "homeness"
means.  I assume that local zoning ordinances can reach home-based
businesses even if they consist only of an office to which clients come for
consultation.  (I don't know much about zoning, and maybe I am incorrect in
my assumption.  If so, I look forward to enlightenment.)

Sandy Levinson

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Sanford Levinson
B.U. Law School
EMail: levinson at bu.edu
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