If you are in a city jurisdiction, and the land is zoned some version of residential, a "business" is generally restricted to those where the owner lives on the property and does not attract significant outside traffic to the location. Such as an accountant, real estate agent, appraiser, author, etc. If you are outside the city, in Texas, you still may have some zoning issues. Most major lakes now have zoning, and some business activities have been restricted. For example, an acreage tract near Lake Ray Roberts was being used as a tree farm for nursery operations. The county closed it down due to complaints that the property was zoned for residential use and the truck traffic was a nuisance.
For properties outside of a city and any zoning, location, utilities, surrounding uses, all will determine the probable highest and best use for the property. For example, you may have a property off the beaten path that is being used for some form of commercial usage. Example is an auto repair shop, headquarters for a wrecker company, etc, but the surrounding properties are residential. The probable H&BU would be residential even though it is being used for a secondary commercial usage. Conversely, you have a residence on a major road, and the predominant properties have some form of neighborhood commercial uses. Even without zoning, the H&BU would probably be for some commercial use. At the same time, if the property on the highway is the only property being used for a commercial use, the H&BU would most likely be residential. Do not confuse H&BU with allowable uses. In Texas, absent zoning and deed restrictions, there's very few restrictions. There are some general Texas statutes regarding contamination, etc that come into play, but you can build a slaughter house and feed lot in the middle of a residential area. The legal hassles would probably preclude such activity but it can be done.
Hope this helps.
