Workamping in Commercial Zoned Business in City Limits

Independent business and you don't want to go to city/meet with them and get the correct answer but are willing to jeopardize your business with opinions from the internet :H

Go talk with city officials and find out if you can legally 'live on site' and if you can what is required to do so.
Lot cheaper to do it right in the first place

I would think in terms of providing security for the car lot. Personally, I wouldn't go to the city. I'd either place the rig and try it out to see what the response is to "security"... or spend 3 or 5 hundred bucks to ask a private attorney. Often, going to the city will only get you an opinion from an employee who is unqualified to answer.

Most cities due to health hazards will require a "permitted" sewer connection and you will need to meet fire codes (fire extinguisher, ventilation, egress requirements...etc) for commercial businesses. And then there are the "beauty" laws...will a parked RV violate the laws meant to keep the city beautiful.

It's better to get approval from city hall because your commercial business will be inspected from time to time. That being said I have seen RV's used as living spaces and/or offices on commercial property but was in industrial or unincorporated areas

I wouldn't say a zoning official would be unqualified to answer...in fact that's what they do for a living. However who knows it might never come up and they could be wrong. Town like where I live has two separate zoning offices...city for residential and county for commercial. fire codes shouldn't apply as its not a permanent fixture. You could say its a camper for sale!! Not your residence! LOL just hide your plates. Seriously id do some serious checking before doing something as permanent as selling your house.

Since you own the business and you don't think parking a trailer will fly, why not park the trailer inside a small carport? Just enough to obscure it from sight?

Get information from the city. I do know that in the industrial park my business building was located zoning allowed living there also. I wanted to put an apartment on my second floor, to save money but it was vetoed by the wife.

I know nothing about your locale's rules of course, but my own experience here in my neck-of-the-woods has been that while commercial activity is often prohibited in residential areas, the opposite is usually not true. That is, residential use of a commercial property is rarely if ever forbidden. The trailer itself might be an issue, but since your locale specifically addresses that in residential areas but not in commercial areas, it likely isn't an issue. (That which isn't expressly forbidden is usually allowed, as they say.)

You MIGHT run afoul of health department/permitting regs or something if there's no already installed sewer connection, but that seems remote.

And frankly: Since it's a car lot anyway, I guess you could just put a "for sale" sign on the trailer. Who's going to know the difference?

All of that having been said, if it was me I would probably check it out with the city in advance. I dislike surprises and wouldn't want to go to the trouble of moving only to find that there's going to be a problem.

ON EDIT Qualifier:

Just want to add that the above presumes that you own the property in question rather than lease/rent it.

Hook it up , hang a "for sale "sign on it . You have a license to sell titled vehicles .