| Minutes
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John Carlone, owner,
appeared. Supervisor Lisa Martin: -Summary Abatement Order was issued Nov 9,
2016 to remove TV, tarp, vehicle, furniture, appliances, construction debris,
etc, from Marion Blvd and the property -I also issued Orders on 3 WI vehicles,
licensed as RVs that have expired tabs -I spoke with Mr. Carlone who said that
one is a construction trailer; he plans to build on the site -I contacted
Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board and spoke to Peter Musty, who
forwarded an email that I sent to you this morning in which they stated that
there is no approved plan submitted and they would not allow the storage of any
construction materials or vehicles on that property -photos, email in the file
(attached) Ms. Moermond: -did you hear that? Mr. Carlone: -I did hear her and I
know, generally, what she's talking about -there are 3 vehicles on the property;
1 is a lunch trailer; 1 is a took shed; and the other one is a field office for
construction work -the property is zoned commercial and there's been a lot of
improvements done to it; we're waiting for a surveying company (brought their
info) to do a survey on the property; then, we're going to bring our plan (also
has) of a house that we're going to build on the property; my son and I are
going to build it for myself and my wife and we're going to live there -the
equipment that is there is not road-worthy; it's construction equipment and
after we get a building permit and start excavation, we will have to bring in a
back-hoe, 4 dump trucks, a bulldozer, and all kinds of building materials; then,
everything will be moved -if we had to moved the equipment that's there right
now, it would be a burden to my wife & I because it cost us over $1000 to
move it there; it would cost another $1000 to take it away; another $1000 to
bring it back and another $1000 to take it away after the building is built; and
at this time of the year, we can't build because there's frost in the ground -we
have to get these plans approved from Mr. Musty, CAAPB -at first, we were going
to build a commercial building; then, we realized that there isn't enough
parking there for what would be needed; so, we decided to go residential -it
will take only 90 days to build it but we won't be able to start until Apr 1,
2017, probably -our construction office is used for doing the plans, etc. -the
equipment that's there is not being used and it's not storage; it's equipment
that we use on every job that we go on -I was a small general contractor for a
while; also in the building trades; I worked for the Army Corps of Engineers for
about 3 years; and every job needs a field office, a tool shed and a lunch room
for the men -the equipment is clean; there's no debris on this lot -we put down
a base material so the equipment would be high & dry; and we put a security
fence around the whole area Ms. Moermond: -those vehicles are parked illegally
on a vacant lot Mr. Carlone: -they aren't illegally parked because it's a
commercial lot under construction Ms. Moermond: -it's not under construction;
you don't have a building permit; it's construction related for a particular
project with a permit that's been pulled Mr. Carlone: -we put in 50 ton of
stabilized aggregate Ms. Moermond: -and that would require a permit; don't know
if you have that Mr. Carlone: -excavation does not require a permit Ms.
Moermond: -after a certain volume of material, it does require a permit Mr.
Carlone: -not according to all the years I've been contracting Ms. Moermond:
-this is not a legal parking surface in the City of St. Paul Mr. Carlone: -we're
not parking; it's our construction field office; if the city removes this
equipment and we lost money on it, we would sue the city under the 4th Amendment
of the United States Constitution Ms. Moermond: -you have every ability to
remove it on your own -right now, you've got problems with these vehicles
lacking current tabs, which constitutes a nuisance; they appear inoperable and
they are parked on an unapproved surface -you laid down what appears to be class
5 but under the Zoning Code, you need to have a site plan and class 5 is not an
acceptable surface for a new parking surface, which is what you have right now;
and parking on a vacant lot is prohibited; parking is an accessory use and there
is no primary use since there is no residential or commercial structure present
and it's not under construction to which it would be accessory uses -I can't do
much for you; you have to rectify those problems in order for the vehicles to be
present there Mr. Carlone: -all we're lacking is a building permit; that
equipment you use on construction jobs; you cannot go on a decent construction
job without having some type of field office there Ms. Moermond: -you can square
up what a decent field office looks like with the Building Official and proper
storage of bldg materials for what's under construction but from a nuisance code
perspective, these vehicles don't pass muster; so, I'm sorry that I couldn't be
more generous Mr. Carlone: -you're burdening me my wife & I; we're over age
80 and we're living on fixed income trying to get a mortgage to do this job; and
we've already contacted this Advanced Surveying Company; they're going to email
me a contract to survey it; that's the first thing I need before I can submit my
plan to the CAAPB and then get the bldg permit Ms. Moermond: -enforcement of the
code evenly, I do not see as a burden on you; as it stands, this is a code
violation and the Vehicle Abatement Order, I would recommend that the Council
deny your appeal and grant an extension to Dec 14, 2016 -City Council Public
Hearing is Dec 7, 2016, so you can go talk to the CC about it and they may
decide to do something other than I'm recommending -the way this is right now,
it constitutes a nuisance; the Orders are correct as written Mr. Carlone: -that
property is bought and paid for and it's private property and if the city went
on there for any reason, it'd be trespassing; and if they removed anything, it
would be unlawful search & seizure; and I don't think you want to face
federal charges Ms. Moermond: -I thinks that is something that you want to talk
to attorneys about -I will make sure that code enforcement officers are aware
that those are concerns of yours Grant the appeal on the Summary Abatement Order
as the items were abated; deny the appeal and grant an extension to December 14,
2016 to remove the vehicles. |
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