Charges Filed Over Recording Studio in Home

A Woodland Hills man accused of illegally operating a recording studio in his home has been charged with evading taxes and breaking city zoning laws, a spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney’s office said Thursday.

Spokesman Mike Qualls said Charles A. Sandford, 37, was charged Wednesday with three counts of failing to register as a business and not paying city taxes on his studio, called Secret Sound. He was also charged with two counts of violating regulations barring businesses from operating in residential areas.

Deputy City Atty. Henry Burr, who is handling the case, said Sandford will be prosecuted because he offered three commercial services from his home--selling master audiotapes, renting space and working as a sound engineer.

Building and Safety Department inspectors discovered an array of high-tech equipment, including elaborate sound mixing machines and computers, at Sandford’s residence in the 4700 block of Queen Victoria Road, Burr said.

Inspectors initially learned of the studio in 1989 when neighbors in the upscale hillside community complained about the business, authorities said. Sandford later applied for a variance to let him operate the studio, but the request was denied in February.