ProDarwin said:
In before angry anti HOA/rules people.
In fairness this is a whole freaking county. What next the state? 
ProDarwin said:
In before angry anti HOA/rules people.
In fairness this is a whole freaking county. What next the state?
californiamilleghia said:Riverside county came over to my friends place with photos from a plane saying he could not have non running cars in his yard ,
I thought surveillance was only allowed by the naked eye from a plane. Has the SCrOTUS changed its mind?
nimblemotorsports said:starting with running a leaf blower all day long every day because that is not a code violation.
ooh that's good one. Place it on a lawn sprinkler and claim it's automated. 
This is unbelievable. SEMA would indeed be a good place to start.
Have they furnished any evidence of your guilt? No? Take them to court, then ask for summary judgement against them to pay for your legal fees against false accusations.
Innocent until proven guilty.
SEMA was my first thought, too.
That, and a chainsaw...
Here in my little town in rural UT (pretty hard right area, FYI) it is illegal to have any non-registered or non-operational vehicle on your property unless it is stored in a permanent building. Behind your house? no go. under a tarp? no go. Tent? no go. Motorcycle in a shed? Well, is your shed built on a concrete foundation, up to code, with all permits available for inspection? You have more than one issue here, pal.
Usually I find that only after a grouchy neighbor starts complaining do the LEO's start to show up or you may get a letter from the city giving you 30 days to comply. Dirty rats.
Still think its Floriduh? Sounds like Californyuck to me, politicians want revenoose.
Pretty sure I would be using all those tools to build a metal sculpture in the driveway. A very large metal sculpture.
In reply to oldopelguy :
One that looks like a car
In reply to oldopelguy :
The aren’t tools for major auto repair, they are a personal collection of items that will one day be antiques, and valuable due to the rarity created by nonsensical code enforcement.
The biggest question - how are they allowed to hand out fines without the option of it going to trial? Might need to check with a lawyer on that one, but "That's a $430 fine and you need to pay $700 to have it reviewed" sounds downright unconstitutional.
jfryjfry said:This is unbelievable. SEMA would indeed be a good place to start.
Of course, if SEMA takes up your case then there's clear evidence that you must be running a commercial shop to gain their support. Or something like that. Looks like a no-win situation, but I'd at least take to a lawyer to see if you're not screwing yourself if you just accept the fine in case that gets used as acceptance of you having violated the code.
If it really does come down to one neighbour - will your hands come clean if you wash tem in his dirty water?
oldopelguy said:Pretty sure I would be using all those tools to build a metal sculpture in the driveway. A very large metal sculpture.
and make it a feminine fertility goddess - can't mess with that stuff anymore.
something like those 'Sheila na gigs' they got in parts of Ireland. 
alternately, just call the authorities on the neighbor who called on you. Since they apparently don't need any proof of anything, he'll get slapped with the $430 fine as well, and then has to pay the $700 fee to fight it. Won't necessarily help you, but it will make you feel a tiny bit better perhaps :)
I've often wondered what I'd do if any neighbors complained about my car work (though I do it all in my garage, which isn't illegal here to my knowledge) . I think I'd just go park my (fully street-legal and registered) rally car right in front of their house on the public street. But, they don't complain, since every single one of them has at one point or another come over to ask for my help or knowledge regarding some car problem they're having.
The law boils down to "We don't want you running an unlicensed repair business and we don't want you polluting the groundwater." Both are acceptable things on the face of it, but yes the brush is painted too broadly and the idea of guilty until proven innocent is absurd.
Speaking with a potential new landlord for a relocated Batcave. It's advertised as warehouse space, and I told him flat out that I an a hobbyist and need a place to work, too. Guy says, sure, we have some guys who do that, but no inoperable cars kept outside (fine by me) and no fluids kept on site. We talked a bit more, and the gist of it was he didn't want people having 55 gallon drums of used oil that he'd have to get rid of when they invariably abandoned them somewhere. When I told him that I have a 5 gallon bucket for oil and another one for coolant and I take them to work for disposal, he cheered right up and said that's perfect.
On the other hand, the idea that I'd be shoulder to shoulder with that kind of yahoo makes ME leery of leasing there.
So much for right to repair...
A pretty E36 M3ty situation. It's surprising to hear that about Sacramento. I guess that all the rednecks are moving out of town, leaving it to the uptight types.
I've broken various rules IRT my property in a nice part of Oakland, CA. I'll generally announce to my neighbors if I think that there's any chance they'll object, and basically tell them that they have veto power. Interestingly, the neighborhood shiny happy person has always been nice to me - I think because I asked and treated him with respect instead of contempt. Once I fired off a poorly carbureted, barely muffled V6 at 10:30 at night. The next day I apologized, and his response was "That was you? I think that you're running rich".
This ties into the electric car thing a bit. I'm feeling more and more marginalized as a proponent of ICE vehicles. To your average person, what we do might as well be steam engines and medieval armor making.
I’m completely onboard the “give it right back and make the biggest stink” wagon.
I live in an HOA that enforces “what it feels like at the moment”. I get dog crap in my yard regularly. I complained. They replied with “let us know if it gets worse”. It continued. I did not. I now shovel that dog E36 M3 into the streets and sidewalks of my neighborhood. Specifically, where every lazy dog owner walks there dog. Now THEY get to step in it and drag it into THEIR homes.
nimblemotorsports said:This is a 20 acre parcel, the barn area is not visible from the street.
It is whisper quiet out here, there is no noise whatsoever normally.
They don't have to provide any evidence whatsoever to charge you in violation.
Apparently having 'tools' not common to a household is sufficient to charge you with doing Major Automotive Repairs.
I have a car lift, however, it is not installed, it is sitting on the ground.
I am pretty certain it is one neighbor, I talked to him before, he was a totally unfriendly jerk.
Fight it. The reg as written has a variety of holes in it.
"They don't have to provide any evidence whatsoever to charge you in violation." No due process here.
Re the pollution part. If you have the equipment necessary to clean up or better avoid spills you should be able to do your own work.
Contact SEMA - they have a legal arm to deal with anti car guy laws.
In reply to L5wolvesf :
I can’t wait to see the clickbait that trolls out of this...
I'm betting that the auto repair shops have some kind of pull with the local county, too.
I would like to know what counts as "tools not found in a normal residence". I know good and goddamn well half the people here have enough tools to make the average mechanic shop jealous. I mean, plasma cutter? Welder? 5 axis? What's the line?
Kreb said:. To your average person, what we do might as well be steam engines and medieval armor making.
when the grid goes down those will darn handy skills. 
p.s. I do not believe the grid will go down. Or if does I'm headed to Texas they got their own.
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