By MARK DEVOLDER
Los Alamos

Los Alamos County is really big on recreational activities and various kinds of “Fests.” 

Personally, my recreational activity or Fest is working on my vehicles. This is particularly the case as automotive shops typically charge $125 per hour for repair work.

The folks in Community Development (that is, Nuisance Code Enforcement) have suggested that automobiles need to be repaired in residential garages.  As has been pointed out previously, not everyone has a garage or even a carport (this applies to apartments, too). Therefore, vehicle owners may resort to repairing vehicles in yards, driveways, or Los Alamos County (LAC) the streets.

The following are reasons why repairing vehicles in a residential garage is a flawed idea:

1. Due to Nuisance Code requirements, many folks keep items in residential garages because items cannot be stored in yard locations. Such storage reduces the useable space in garages allotted for proposed vehicle repairs (that is, when garages are available)
2. Opening and closing vehicle doors in a limited garage space can be difficult
3. It is difficult to use a hydraulic floor jack in a garage because the jack handle may approach 4 feet long and the handle becomes an impediment to walking  
4. Some trucks are taller and longer than they were in the 1960’s. Long and tall trucks may not fit in garages. If garage doors are left open for a period of time, then rodents (for example, pack rats and mice) can invade garages and homes
5. Working outside is often desirable due to the presence of natural sunlight. Working in a garage requires the use of a droplight. Constantly moving the droplight around is cumbersome and time consuming
6. Working outside on a winter day may be more desirable than working in a garage. With the sun shining, some winter days are actually quite warm and working outside may be preferable to working in a cold garage
7. Some garages are not provided with GFCI receptacles/circuits. A liquid spill or water from melting ice/snow could result in an electrical shock if a shade-tree mechanic is using droplight or battery charger. (Note: A shock could also occur if a mechanic is working on a vehicle outside and it rains or snows.)
8. Charging a battery in a poorly ventilated garage could result in a hydrogen build-up and a potential fire and/or explosion
9. Working in a closed garage and testing a vehicle can result in the build-up of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxides
10. There are a variety of automotive products which contain solvents. From a health and safety perspective, it is desirable to work with such solvents in a well ventilated area. Garages tend to be poorly ventilated
11. Some garages may not be provided with sheetrock inner walls. This increases the risk of a house fire
12. Washing and waxing a vehicle is also a maintenance activity. I suppose that type of activity must also be completed inside a garage

In short, a residential garage is a terrible place for a shade-tree mechanic to work.  Anyone who has repaired a vehicle knows this. 

(Note: Given the small size of some yards and back yards, repairing vehicles in yards as proposed in the draft Nuisance Code may not be feasible. In addition, fences may be required so that vehicles are not visible.)  

It is typical and tragic that government entities (including contract personnel) propose unworkable solutions without performing a rudimentary hazard analysis beforehand.  Alternately some kind of pro/con analysis would reveal potential benefits/shortcomings associated with proposals.     

After the Los Alamos County Council poured cold water on Anna Dillane’s complaint about the LAC Nuisance Code, it is abundantly clear to me that the County Council has very limited interest in LAC public opinion unless it related to recreational activities or Fests. I really think that this is the case regardless of the amount of money LAC wastes on POLCO/other surveys. This is also the reason that I will no longer bother voting for any County Council candidates in the future regardless of party affiliation. 

Recommendation:

If LAC Nuisance Code Enforcement personnel feel so strongly about homeowners repairing vehicles in residential garages, then I believe it is appropriate for Los Alamos County to shoulder the complete expense of providing new and/or renovated garages for ALL Los Alamos residents (including apartment dwellers). LAC appears to have enough Gross Receipts Tax funding to build garages to the moon. The same argument applies for constructing fences which are required to keep vehicles out of public view during repair efforts. In short, LAC should shoulder the burden of their proposed regulations.  

Recommendation:

The LAC Building Code needs to be revised so that new homes in LAC are provided with three-car garages – two for operable vehicles and one for an inoperable vehicle / a vehicle undergoing repairs.  After all, one of the reasons that America won WWII is that the Japanese failed to bomb the dry dock / repair facilities at Pearl Harbor. 

I am reluctantly including the following because it may offend some readers. However, I recall that General Leslie Groves (Manhattan Project) used to start an intellectual fight to see where the strength of an argument resided.

If Nuisance Code Enforcement personnel are going to discriminate against my recreational activities then I think it is only fair that I discriminate against various recreational activities and Fests in LAC as follows:

1. Residents like to have picnics. There are nice picnic grounds on North Mesa and at Urban Park.  However, I think that picnics need to be limited to dining rooms, dens, garages, patios, and back yards
2. LAC has a nice golf course. However, it serves only a tiny fraction of the LAC population (that is, golfers and restaurant visitors). Unlike a vehicle, the golf course serves no useful function. The golf course needs to be permanently closed. In a small place, which includes LAC, much valuable property is taken up by the golf course which could be better used for more residential housing and low-income apartments. I think it is high time that golfers install artificial turf in their garages or back yards and play Putt-Putt there. Contractors have concrete hole-saws to create appropriate features for those golfers who are in need of a recessed receptacle in to which they can tap their golf balls. Alternately, a golf driving range could be relocated in one of the canyons in LAC. LAC residents could also choose to eat at home instead of going to the restaurant at the golf course  
3. LAC has a variety of art on display in various locations. Some of the “art” includes sculptures composed of discarded (possibly new) automobile parts and industrial hardware (for example, automatic transmission clutch parts, gears, coil springs, circular saw blades, steel chain, etc.).  Personally, I have much more respect for a well-engineered vehicle regardless of condition (even if it is broken-down or humble) as opposed to mechanical sculptures. Perhaps the mechanical sculptures should be relocated to the LAC repair yards with other kinds of LAC equipment. Or maybe such sculptures should remain in the creator’s garage. The rest of the art on display in LAC could be placed/stored/kept inside residential homes and garages. 
4. LAC has a variety of swimming pools – some of them cost in excess of $7 million to construct.  Perhaps aquatic activities should be limited to the use of squirt guns and garden hoses in back yards
5. Trails are a nice feature in LAC. However, residents could install dirt tracks in their back yards and walk in circles instead
6. A space is set aside for horses on North Mesa. Of course, horses came before automobiles.   Maybe horses should be stabled in residential garages or in back yards.  Alternately, LAC residents could construct merry-go-rounds with carnival horses and ride to their heart’s content in their own back yard.  A brass ring would be a desirable option
7. There are a variety of concerts at Ashley Pond during the summer. Maybe people should stay home and listen to music in their garages. Many joggers already utilize portable sound systems so that they can listen to their favorite music
8. The Garden Club needs to stop gardening in LAC public spaces. Yards and homes are suitable locations for plants of various types. Garages can be turned into sun rooms and plants can be grown there
9. Many dogs poop all over everything and some bark their brains out. Therefore, dogs need to be kept in garages
10. I think that electrical power poles in LAC are rather ugly and need to be replaced with underground services
11. I think that water towers in LAC are rather ugly and they are a hazard to low-flying aircraft. Maybe water storage capacity should be relocated underground and provided with appropriate pumping capability for distribution
12. I don’t really care for sirens and explosions at LANL. The noise could be eliminated if LANL constructed an underground “garage” facility for explosive testing
13. I don’t like noise from the shooting range. The LAC Municipal Building has a very large (grandiose) meeting room with a very high ceiling (wasted space). The meeting room could be provided with another floor. The new room could be used as a shooting range for LAPD and the public.  Alternately, the new room could be used to collect the myriad of complaints from LAC residents who demand more reactional projects and Fests in LAC 
14. I am a vegetarian and for the most part do not enjoy the smell of meat cooking. I also like clean air and do not enjoy the overpowering odor of fabric softener sheets placed in clothes dryers.  Perhaps chemical scrubbers need to be installed on range hoods and clothes dryers.   
15. If it is so offensive to repair vehicles in yards, driveways, and LAC streets, maybe it would be better to ban the driving of vehicles in LAC altogether. Then vehicles can remain in garages and carports or parked on LAC streets 100 percent of the time. Such a ban would reduce rush-hour traffic and reduce accidents. This would leave plenty of room on LAC roads for buses, bicyclists, and motorcycle operators.   

I can understand if a physicist employed by LANL might be supportive of a nuisance code requirement where LAC residents need to work on vehicles in their garages (or in fenced yard locations). I knew a physicist living in LAC. He had a two-car garage. The only things in his garage were a couple of autos, a pair of green and blue roll-off bins, and an aluminum extension ladder. The physicist spent most of his time reading physics journals and playing his grand piano. The physicist had his autos repaired by a local mechanic. Unfortunately, not everyone in LAC lives the ideal life of a physicist.    

In all fairness, I can see that there is a one good reason for repairing vehicles in residential garages. It keeps audible cussing to a minimum. Such cussing occurs when mud falls in a shade-tree mechanic’s face or a shade-tree mechanic drops a V-8 engine head on his index finger.

Pardon me if I have trouble dealing with bigots who cannot tolerate me changing out my vehicle spark plugs outside on a sunny day.

Reponse From Jessica Lawlis, Urban Planner, Dekker Perich Sabatini:

Good Morning Mr. Devolder,

We appreciate your input on the draft of the Chapter 18 Nuisance code.

We understand your concerns regarding the language under the heading Alternative for Personal Auto and Hobby Repair on page 5 of the draft. To clarify, the language was intended to pertain only to inoperable vehicles being stored in public view for extended time periods for the sake of personal hobby repair. It was an issue that the project team was asked to consider during one of the CDAB presentations.

We have received several concerns regarding this particular section and have proposed two alternatives on which we need guidance from CDAB and Council during our upcoming presentations regarding the draft. 

Option 1: To remove the content under the heading of Alternative for Personal Auto and Hobby Repair on page 5. 

Option 2: Revise language as follows: “This section shall not apply in an area where an activity is within the contemplated purposes of a duly licensed business with the appropriate zoning or permitted as part of a Special Use and complies with all use requirements of the district and any conditions imposed by the approving bodies, or where any number of inoperable vehicles are kept in an enclosed structure, the routine or minor vehicle maintenance and repairs, such as oil changes, brake replacement, etc. or when vehicles are actively being restored, as defined by this Article, by the owner or tenant of the premises.

Any dismantled or inoperative vehicles, or parts thereof, actively being restored are permitted to be stored on the property for a period not to exceed six months, provided the motor vehicle is registered in the resident’s name and fully covered with an opaque cover designed to fit the motor vehicle if stored in a front yard. Alternative for Personal Auto and Hobby Repair15: Repair, maintenance or hobby activities performed on personal vehicles owned by the owner(s) or occupant of the property will be done in a manner which minimizes the impact to the neighborhood and, shall be performed within the garage or behind fenced areas which are not readily visible from public rights-of-way.” and add definition of actively restored to Division 5 to read: “Actively Restored means the owner has spent at least ten hours of labor in repairing, rebuilding or reconstruction of the motor vehicle within the last 30 days. The burden shall be on the owner of the vehicle to prove that it is being actively restored which may include receipts for the purchase of parts and supplies during the last 6 months which have been installed on the vehicle.”

This alternative language provides exceptions to the routine or minor vehicle maintenance and repairs and provides time limits for hobby restoration activities.