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Jul 25, 2008 6:54 pm US/Central
Some Say Car Repair Shops More Like Salvage Yards
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
Neighbors call them an eyesore and they want Dallas leaders to shut down what some feel are illegal businesses.
The shops along Fort Worth Avenue in north Oak Cliff are supposed to be the type of businesses where customers can take their cars for repair, but some say they act more like illegal salvage yards.
Just west of downtown Dallas is where the dozens of repair and body shops sit.
According to city officials many of the shops aren't being 'good neighbors'. "Basically we want the operators to adhere to the certificates of occupancy that they do have ad also to clean up the other violations that we noted," said Jimmy Martin with Dallas Code Compliance.
Now the city is cracking down on auto body and repair shops that are breaking the law and some local residents say that won't be hard.
"The neighbors have to watch just a stream of wreckers bringing in these cars and they leave them sitting on the street," said Deborah Carpenter with the Fort Worth Avenue Development Group.
Police began looking at the businesses more closely after Carpenter compiled a three page list of auto shops that she believed were operating illegally. "What they're actually running is auto salvage. They have dozens and dozens of wrecked and inoperable vehicles just sitting outside on their property, just contributing to a real junky visual image."
It turns out Carpenter was right. Of the list she compiled 23 shops were issued a 'notice of violation' by the city.
Many of them claim to perform paint, body and repair work, but instead the shops appear to be buying up abandoned cars at the city impound only to have them sit in front of their shops, on the sidewalk, or just off the road.
Carpenter says the same cars sit outside for months and even years.
The issue is especially a problem for an area that is trying to be revitalized. New businesses like the Cliff Café and the Belmont Hotel, along with current projects under construction, have breathed new life into Fort Worth Avenue.
CBS 11 News tried to talk to some of the people who run some of the auto shops. News crews were either told that a manager was not on site or 'no comment'.
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