Agenda - Council - 04/13/2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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CASE APPLICATION FOR MOTOR VEHICLE SALES AND REPAIR LICENSE; CASE OF S&R AUTO By: Community Development Director Sylvia Frolik, Community Development Assistant Chris Anderson Background: Doug and Julie Hills own the property located at 7443 Hwy. #10 N.W. A portion of their property is leased to SR Auto. SR Auto is in the business of motor vehicle sales and repair. The property is zoned B-2 Highway Business and motor vehicle sales and repair is a permitted use. Section 7.02 of City Code requires a City license for motor vehicle sales and repair. On February 25, 2004, SR Auto applied for their 2004 license. The Community Development Department did not sign the 'zoning approval' section of the license and it has not been forwarded to Council pending resolution of the issues described below. Observations: Subsequent to a car fire at SR Auto, the then Fire/Building Inspector conducted an inspection of the property on December 27, 2002, and noted violations of the Fire Code, Building Code and City Zoning Code. The violations consisted of auto salvage activities, car parts scattered throughout the property (condition of premises), hazardous fluids being improperly stored, and structural hazards in the building where the auto repair activities were being conducted. On January 2, 2003, SR Auto was ordered, in writing, to cease auto repair until a certain level of safety was attained. On February 27, the City received a complaint from the neighbor to the east that there was welding being conducted at SR's site in a tent, located 20 feet from the complainant's barn. The Fire/Building Inspector and Fire Chief responded to the complaint by conducting another inspection that day. The inspection revealed that work had not ceased per the January 2 letter and there had been no progress to get the property into compliance. On February 28, 2003, the City provided written notification to the owners of SR Auto of the fire code violations and also required compliance by April 1, 2003. On April 2, 2003, the Community Development Department sent notice to the property owners, IDoug and Julie Hills, notifying them of the zoning violations regarding condition of premises and auto salvage activities being in violation of City Code. The transmittal also noted that if SR Auto did not cease auto repair activities, they would be considered in violation of their license. On May 14, 2003, the City conducted another site inspection. Evidence of auto salvage activities had been removed from the site. However, not all of the Building and Fire Code violations had been resolved. In the summer of 2003, Staff noticed that the repair garage had been resided and a new roof was installed. SR Auto did get a re-siding permit, but they did not get a permit to repair the roof. They never called for inspections and at that point in time, it was still unknown whether the structural hazards had been corrected. On January 7, 2004, the City was contacted by Anoka County Environmental Services regarding concerns with S&R and proper handling of automotive waste and record keeping.