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Magistrate grants two-week extension for fence repairs but orders removal or relocation of heavy equipment at adjacent properties
Summary
The magistrate found 2728 East 13th Street in compliance on a fence violation but ruled 1234 Northeast Avenue remains out of compliance because of vehicles and heavy equipment; two-week extension granted to correct issues.
A pair of adjacent properties under separate enforcement orders drew mixed rulings: the magistrate found 2728 East 13th Street in compliance for a fence violation but concluded the neighboring parcel at 1234 Northeast Avenue remains out of compliance because of vehicles, tow trucks and construction equipment. The magistrate allowed two additional weeks for the owner at 1234 Northeast Avenue to remove or relocate prohibited equipment.
Code enforcement officer Robert Clarkson presented photographs showing a lowered fence at one parcel but multiple tow trucks, an ambulance and construction equipment on the East Avenue parcel. The magistrate recounted a June 11 magistrate order that required the owner to lower fence panels and remove columns above an 8-foot limit; inspections on June 23 and July 14 showed partial progress on fence height but persistent vehicles and equipment behind the screening.
Owner James Atkinson said he was finishing fence panels and had moved some equipment but acknowledged two tow trucks and other vehicles remained; he said some vehicles were operable work vehicles used by his construction business and that repairs were in progress. The magistrate cautioned that zoning (C-1 commercial) does not permit storing heavy construction equipment or operating a tow/repo yard from the parcel even if screened. The magistrate accepted some progress but found the property not in compliance and allowed two more weeks for removal of inappropriate items, ordered a reinspection in two weeks and set an Aug. 13, 1 p.m., follow-up hearing.
The magistrate instructed that a cherry picker and similar equipment must be relocated and said one permitted work vehicle may remain when used as a work vehicle and appropriately titled and tagged, but that multiple tow trucks and heavy equipment constituted zoning violations. Code enforcement and the owner discussed screening, grandfathered uses and enforcement limits; the magistrate told Atkinson to complete the fence and remove or relocate vehicles and equipment within the time allowed.
The case will be reinspected and returned to the magistrate on the Aug. 13 docket.
