The owner of a shop that has installed car stereos and alarms on downtown Newhall’s Main Street for 22 years says the city is forcing him out of business, or at least out of the area, in Santa Clarita’s push to make the main drag more attractive.

Soundsations owner Danny Mascari said the city has forced him into an impossible position by passing an ordinance prohibiting businesses from working on cars outside — which rules out most of his workspace. A city law from 1998 also keeps him from expanding his garage.

Mascari’s troubles have come to a head as several other auto shop owners in the redevelopment area claim the city is threatening to drive them out of their longtime locations.

Santa Clarita officials, however, said they have been more than accommodating and the situation was no surprise for Mascari.

They gave Mascari an 18-month grace period to continue working outside while searching for a new home for his business, Director of Community Development Paul Brotzman said.

That grace period ends April 1, Brotzman said, and if Soundsations doesn’t get in compliance, the city may pursue legal action against the shop.

So for Mascari the writing is on the wall: Either move the shop or close.

“The powers at (Santa Clarita) City Hall seem to have a tremendous disliking to anything automotive-related in the revitalization area in Newhall,” Mascari said.

In 1998, the City Council voted to prohibit new auto shops from opening in downtown Newhall. Years later, in 2005, council members approved the Newhall Specific Plan, laying out the rules for which businesses can open and what they can do with their spaces

The city has since invested millions of dollars into downtown Newhall’s Main Street in an effort to make it more pedestrian- and shopper-friendly.

City Council candidate Daniel Henriquez said the ban on new auto businesses contradicts Santa Clarita’s business-friendly reputation.

“It’s not like these (car) businesses set up shop a few years ago and ruined the neighborhood,” Henriquez said. “These are the businesses that helped build Newhall.”

Meanwhile, Mascari said his shop is stuck in a catch 22 — in order to get in compliance with Santa Clarita code, Mascari has to enclose an open car port, turning it into a garage. However, the city won’t allow him to enclose the car port because you’re not allowed to expand a car shop in the redevelopment area, he said.      

“We would not allow the carport to be enclosed for this use,” said Community Preservation Administrator Cruz Caldera in an e-mail. “Because this business is located in Old Town Newhall, it falls under the provisions of the Downtown Newhall Specific Plan and automotive uses are not an approved use in this area.”

Santa Clarita officials requested Mascari move his work inside the shop after the city received complaints about the business doing work outdoors, Caldera said.

The only way for Soundsations to comply with the code is to work on one car inside the shop at a time, Mascari said. But if the shop does this, it wouldn’t make enough money to stay in business, he said.

“It would be impossible to get into compliance because I can’t enclose the canopy,” Mascari said. “If I’m limited to (working on one car at a time), it’s impossible for me to stay here, much less stay in business.”

Mascari, who owns the property, said he has tried to get a tenant business to rent the property from him. So far, there have been no takers. He said he has been looking to relocate to either Valencia or Canyon Country.

Since the future of Soundsations in Newhall is in doubt, he said he has been afraid to invest any more money into the business.

Complicating matters are his three college-age children he supports.

“It’s more than stress,” Mascari said. “Closing down is not an option. I’ll have to manage to survive and continue somehow.”