FULLERTON : City Bans For-Profit Auto Work at Homes

Responding to dozens of complaints received by the Police Department each year about people illegally fixing cars for profit at their homes, the City Council on Tuesday adopted an ordinance declaring such work a “public nuisance.”

The city already prohibits commercial activities at a residence, unless it is legally permitted and designated a “home occupation.” But residents doing auto repair work for profit have until now not been violating any specific ordinances, officials said.

As many as 60 people annually call the police to report neighbors who operate “mini-auto repair shops,” citing noise, odor and visual blight, said Jinny Barton, the city’s senior code enforcement officer.

Prosecution of home-occupation violations has previously been difficult, so the new ordinance will make it easier to successfully crack down on those who run repair businesses from their home garages, Mayor A.B. (Buck) Catlin said.