The Sunnyvale Sun

News

City council touches up the automobile-repair rules

By Stephen Baxter

Sunnyvale officials want to clamp down on neglected car projects in driveways and yards, and a new law clarifies rules on auto work.

The city council decided April 3 to limit major car repairs to garages and places out of public view, and it refined its definition of allowable minor repairs.

Minor repairs and maintenance such as oil changes have been allowed in driveways, but are now limited to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The new law terms as minor repairs lubrication, battery replacement, tire repair, small part changes, brake servicing, touch-up painting, engine tune-ups, radio replacement, cleaning and similar work. Projects now must be completed within 72 hours.

Major repairs--such as engine overhaul, axle installation and body work--now must be done out of public view in less than three months, or in a garage indefinitely. The new law forbids more than two simultaneous car projects, and all cars must be registered to a resident of the home or to an immediate family member.

The council voted 4-3 in favor of the new rules, with councilmen John Howe, Chris Moylan and Ron Swegles dissenting, in part, because of enforcement concerns. The council will review the rules in two years.

The initial review on auto repair laws was generated by Councilwoman Melinda Hamilton, who said she was alerted to problems with home auto repairs while on the 2003 campaign trail. The new rules target illegal car shops, and officials indicated they will try to root out cars lifted on jacks for extended periods.

The move also comes after some Lakewood neighborhood residents complained in e-mails to the city that neighbors were drinking beer and socializing in driveways while car projects lay idle. Residents said they know the difference between a neat car hobbyist and a tipsy amateur, but codifying the difference has proven to be difficult.

Three car hobbyists spoke against new restrictions at the April 3 council meeting, saying the new law is written too broadly.

Resident Tony Lombardo told the council he often works with his son on his car in the driveway.

He said, "It's not the car that's interfering with [neighbors], it's the people who are drinking."