Neighbor and business clash over vehicle storage on Dickinson—s 900 block of First Street East; city hears enforcement concerns

A public hearing before the Dickinson City Commission drew residents, the auto-repair business and police to the dais as a neighbor pressed the city to enforce its zoning and nuisance rules for the 900 block of First Street East.

Attorney Sandra Coontz spoke for neighbor Anthony Kleinwachter and presented photos and videos she said documented nearly a decade of repeated, daily outdoor storage and vehicle-related deposits on the public right-of-way. Coontz cited the city—s supplemental commercial use regulations and told commissioners that "outdoor storage incidental to auto repair and body repair is permitted, provided such storage is completely screened as to not be visible from residential areas or public rights of way," adding that the code language "contemplates that you can—t be parking on the public right of way." She said her client had provided the city with hundreds of photos and videos and that the typical staff response to complaints"keep documenting"was inadequate.

Deputy Chief Hansen of the Dickinson Police Department told the commission that calls-for-service to the 900 block had been frequent (Hansen said he believed the 2024 calls-for-service total was 17) and that, to his knowledge, officers had issued at least one parking citation there. Hansen said police had engaged the property owner and Schmidt Transmission (the auto business) to seek a solution rather than rely solely on a pattern of citations, noting the business owner had purchased a street sweeper and installed security cameras that staff can access.

Remington Schmidt, owner/operator of Schmidt Transmission, told the commission that many photos submitted were older, that vehicles left on the street were typically operable and were usually picked up the same day or the next day, and that the shop does not use the street for long-term storage of vehicles being repaired. He said the business is working to acquire additional property for overflow/impound and that he instructs customers to use the shop lot when space is available.

Kleinwachter, the property owner who filed the complaint, told the commission he had personally documented up to 27 vehicles on the street at once, and he said the problem had grown worse in the past two years. He described oil and fluid deposits that affected weekly garbage pickup and said his attempts to get sustained enforcement had not resolved the ongoing problem.

City staff offered technical clarifications and process context: the zoning provisions that control outdoor storage are in the commercial supplemental regulations and require opaque screening at property lines; the city—s parking enforcement process marks tires and allows 48 hours for a vehicle to be removed before enforcement escalates; municipal code does not appear to define "storage" in a single sentence and staff typically use a 72-hour private-property threshold as a practical dividing line between parking and storage. Building and code staff noted the Schmidt building is nonconforming to modern setbacks in part because of its age and location, which complicates options such as installing screening that would create pedestrian or traffic hazards.

After questions from commissioners about citation numbers, the police deputy said department staff had tried working with business ownership to find a longer-term solution, and said he believed the north side of the 900 block now typically stays clearer. Hansen said he had convened an on-site meeting of city departments and both parties in response to requests for escalation but that the property owner declined mediation; that action was followed later by the attorney filing the complaint.

Commissioners agreed staff should meet with the parties, examine zoning and parking interpretations and come back with a recommendation. City Attorney Winkel and code enforcement staff will coordinate that follow-up and report options to the commission.

Ending

Commissioners did not make a formal enforcement motion at the hearing. Instead they asked staff to study whether the city—s current parking-enforcement process and code definitions sufficiently address outdoor storage incidental to auto repair, and to return with recommended next steps for enforcing the commercial supplemental regulations or proposing code clarifications.