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Council tables lawsuit request over unauthorized right-of-way work after property owner agrees to corrective plan
Summary
Council amended an ordinance to change the named defendant and then voted 4-1 to table Ordinance 51-25 after the property owner spoke with a council member and agreed to remove pavers in the city right-of-way and restore the area.
Athens City Council on May 5 amended and then tabled Ordinance 51-25, which asked the law director to file a civil lawsuit seeking injunctive relief for unauthorized use of city right-of-way at Woodward Avenue.
Council member Swank moved to amend the ordinance to change the named defendant to "do what is right, LLC" and the amendment was adopted on a voice vote. After a phone call between council and the property owner, Council member Smike reported that the owner agreed to remove pavers placed in the right-of-way and to restore the area to bare earth, keeping an existing curb. Based on that conversation, Member Smike moved to table Ordinance 51-25 to give the owner time to follow through; the motion to table passed 4 to 1.
Why it matters: the ordinance would have authorized the law director to file for injunctive relief against the property owner for unauthorized encroachment. Council used a tabled posture to allow a negotiated, corrective action to proceed while retaining the ordinance as a recourse if the owner fails to comply.
Council discussed proper restoration steps and suggested coordination with the city code office to precisely define the right-of-way line before removal of the pavers. Member Smike said the curb could remain because it "is very well done and it further deflects water in a continuous pattern down the hill." He described recommending mulch and plantings as a maintenance-reducing solution the owner could implement.
Action details: council amended the defendant named in the ordinance and then voted to table the ordinance; the final voice tally on the motion to table was four in favor and one opposed. The ordinance remains on the books so staff and the law director can resume action if the property owner does not complete the agreed corrective work.
Next steps: the council asked the property owner to work with the code office to mark the right-of-way, remove the bricks, and return the area to bare earth with appropriate vegetation; failure to comply would allow the law director to proceed under the amended ordinance.
