> The old argument for rules like this was often "broke cars reduce home value", so it's fun to try and see them use the pro-environment card but it's really to push out poor people.

It's one thing if you're legitimately doing a small repair on your car like changing a blown tire or replacing a cat some meth head sawed off... but honestly, everyone knows how bad a car hoarder can fuck up the looks of a neighborhood, not to mention the actually relevant emission issues: exhaust from damaged or half-broken vehicles being worked on, oil and other contaminant spills both on ground and in wastewater management systems, noise from angle grinders and hydraulic lifts, spray paint wafting through the neighborhood and setting on laundry, the fire risk originating from operating with welders, blowtorches, plasma cutters or shoddy DIY electrical work...

The problem is, you can't legally define "common sense" or "not being an arsehole", and too many arseholes abusing a regulation-free environment end up driving rules such as the one being discussed.

Here in Germany, we have a sensible solution: there are "hobbyist garages" where you drive in, can rent any kind of tool you can imagine, lift rigs or parking lots, and work on your car. Everything there is above the board - the places have oil removers on the wastewater collection, are in industrial zones where no people live adjacent and have safe disposal for everything (oil, coolant, AC refrigerants, fuel, batteries, ...). As a result of the availability of these services, almost no one but farmers does major repairs on their own property, and the farmers don't bother anyone because they are way out in rural areas.