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Resident says city improperly issued occupancy permits at Lamar Plaza; aldermen ask for ordinance citations
Summary
A Pacific resident told the Board of Aldermen the city allowed occupancy permits at Lamar Plaza without required off-street parking, demanded the city fix the parking or compensate businesses, and pressed the city attorney for written citations to clarify policy; the board said ordinances were provided to the resident's attorney and flagged potential litigation.
Edward Fogelbach, a Pacific resident, told the Board of Aldermen on June 18 that he believes the city improperly issued occupancy permits for spaces at Lamar Plaza that bypassed the city's off-street parking ordinance and asked the city to remedy the situation.
Fogelbach said the issue has been under discussion with city staff since December 2023 and asked the city to either provide the required parking for businesses in the plaza or evaluate losses and make affected businesses whole. "It is solely to point out the city failed to apply ordinances properly regarding that plaza's parking lot," Fogelbach said. He also said a city staff member had contacted the Lamar Plaza landlord and told her the property could not receive further business approvals while the parking and occupancy concerns remained.
The city attorney, Tony Jones, told the board he had provided the relevant ordinances to the resident's counsel and to staff during meetings. Mayor Felic said the city's position had been communicated and noted the city had provided the ordinances to the resident's attorney; the mayor also said press coverage referred to a potential threat of litigation. Jones and other staff described having provided ordinance text to Paul Richeli and others in follow-up to inquiries.
Board members offered to supply additional ordinance citations and help the resident understand the code history. Alderman Cleave and others said they would provide the code and amendment chronology if that would clarify how a building or use might be grandfathered. The board did not take formal action beyond confirming that staff had supplied ordinance citations to the resident's attorney and that aldermen could follow up individually.
Next steps: The resident asked the city attorney for direct, detailed written answers to specific questions he had emailed to aldermen; the board agreed staff and aldermen could provide ordinance copies and chronology to help resolve the dispute but did not adopt any new enforcement policy at the meeting.
