Why A Successful Home-Based Bike Repair Shop Was Shut Down By A California City

A neighbor’s complaint caused the city of Livermore, California, to close the home-based repair shop of a bike repairman, states the news report below.
Although the repairman took out a business license before the garage start-up,  there is no mention of a zoning permit taken out beforehand in the news piece.

And so this story is not just about a miserable neighbor causing the closure of a start-up after a job lay-off.  In some cities, zoning and business licenses are in two separate departments of the licensing bureau. The takeaway here is a reminder that starting a business at home means checking with the zoning department before taking out a business license, which in this case would likely have revealed a bike shop in that area was not permitted.

Reference

Sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com 2/19/2021: https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/02/19/livermore-bicycle-repairman-self-employed-garage-cited-shut-down/