Agenda - Council - 05/14/2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Niles stated that he started working to cleanup the property last fall, removing about 40 vehicles from the site, but is also running his business at the same time so the process is taking longer. Councilmember Musgrove thanked the property owner for attending tonight. She stated that it is always helpful if a property owner is willing to work with the City. She referenced the aerial photographs and believed that it would take longer than 14 days (the length of time between violations/citations) to complete the desired actions. She stated that this is a busy time of year for the business and asked if the City could be flexible with the timelines. Community Development Director Gladhill stated that there is an extension allowed within the citation policy, which could provide up to 30 to 45 days. He noted that if additional extensions are needed after that time, the Council could approve an additional extension. Niles stated that he does need an area for his business to store vehicles. He stated that he would not be opposed to putting up a fence to provide screening. Community Development Director Gladhill stated that the property owner can bring in a request that would show parking areas and fencing, noting that the parking area would need to be improved and not just grass or dirt parking. Mayor LeTourneau suggested that the property owner bring forward a schedule of improvements that could be approved and followed. Community Development Director Gladhill stated that the first step would be for staff to complete a site visit, which would allow staff to have further discussions with the property owner to help in creating that plan. Niles confirmed that he would be willing to participate in a site visit with staff. Councilmember Heinrich stated that she went to meet with Dave recently to learn about his business. She stated that it is a longtime business of the community and the property owner appears to be willing to work with the City to continue to make progress. She stated that the property owner needs to be able to cooperate with staff to determine how he can comply with City regulations and still run a successful business. She commented that the 14-day timeline is a very short length of time. She believed that 21 days would be a better length of time to begin some type of progress. Niles stated that it is helpful that the snow has melted so he can once again work on cleaning up the property. Mayor LeTourneau stated that it will be important to work to develop that schedule of improvements for the property, whatever that length of time may be, and then the items on the list should be completed within the set amount of time agreed upon. Councilmember Shryock agreed that having a set schedule for improvements will be important. She stated that there are businesses in Ramsey that have been here for a long time and therefore City Council Work Session / April 23, 2019 Page 2 of 6