Code board orders Metro Plaza to restore or permit unpermitted enclosure; bollards later found compliant

The Municipal Code Enforcement Board on May 13 ruled that modifications at Metro Plaza (10602 North 56th Street) — specifically an enclosed storefront/egress area added without permits — constitute a violation and must be corrected by June 10, 2026, or face daily fines.

Code compliance officer Laurie Smith presented stop‑work orders and photographic evidence showing an enclosed storefront and roof added between 2013–2014 that had later been closed in without permits. Smith said the enclosure changed the site’s configuration and raised life‑safety and zoning concerns; she said staff instructed the property manager and owners to restore the building to its original condition or pursue the full rezoning and permitting process required to legalize the change.

Respondent representatives including property manager Mohammed Yusuf and counsel Hamdi Kater said they had submitted permit applications after the notice and asked for time to determine how to proceed. Kater said staff had advised the first step is to work through zoning and community development and that staff would provide written steps the owner could follow to remediate the violation without creating additional code problems.

Separately the board considered a related case (installation of bollards at the same plaza). Laurie Smith presented an affidavit of compliance and a permit record for the bollards; the board accepted the compliance affidavit and imposed no fine in that item.

For the enclosure case the board ordered correction on or before June 10, 2026, and warned that if the respondent does not comply the board will impose daily fines until the violation is corrected. The board left the stop‑work order in place and asked staff to provide clear written steps for the respondent to follow in bringing the site into compliance or removing the unauthorized work.