Cathedral City, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

Cathedral City Municipal Code § 9.70.030 lists the uses specifically prohibited as home occupations. The first item is automotive repair (body or mechanical), upholstery and painting. The list also names machinery, equipment or appliance repair, carpentry and cabinet-making, barber and beauty enterprises, professional and medical offices, construction offices with storage of material and equipment, and storage for fee. The last item, § 9.70.030(H), prohibits any similar use and those uses not listed as a permitted use, so a repair business cannot qualify by being described as something else.

The permitted side is narrow. Section 9.70.020 limits home occupations to uses that are primarily office-oriented with limited storage of material and equipment, such as an in-home office, e-commerce, drafting, crafts and music instruction for one student at a time.

The operating standards in § 9.70.070 reinforce the ban. There can be no outdoor storage or display of equipment, machinery, supplies, materials or merchandise. There can be no use of mechanical equipment, appliances or motors in the operation except small appliances normally found in a home, such as typewriters and sewing machines. No more than a one-day supply of hazardous materials, such as pool chlorine or paint thinner, can be stored on the premises. Vehicle use for the business is limited to one vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 10,000 pounds, and no other vehicle used in the operation can be parked or stored on the property. The use also cannot be conducted within an accessory structure, which removes a garage-style workshop in the backyard.

A home occupation in Cathedral City also needs a business license under § 9.70.040 and a permit from the city planner under § 9.70.050, and the planner issues it only if the proposal meets every requirement of Chapter 9.70.