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Lanett resident contests code-enforcement citation for front-yard sitting area; council resists grandfathering
Summary
Resident Carolyn Morgan told the council that a sitting area her family built in the front yard was cited as violating Lanett’s accessory-structure ordinance (effective 2011). Code Enforcement Officer Mark Crowder said the ordinance requires accessory structures to be located in the rear yard; Councilmember Charles Bagley opposed any grandfathering.
At the Feb. 16 Lanett City Council meeting, resident Carolyn Morgan told the council that her husband and nephew built a sitting area in her front yard and that the city’s code-enforcement officer told her the structure did not comply with the city’s accessory-structure ordinance. Morgan said she had not known about the ordinance, presented photos to the council and said she had already discussed the matter with the building inspector and the mayor.
Councilmember Denise Zachery asked Code Enforcement Officer Mark Crowder why the structure had been cited. Crowder told the council that Lanett’s ordinance places accessory structures in the rear of the property and that the sitting area violated the ordinance. Zachery asked whether Morgan could be grandfathered in; Councilmember Charles Bagley said allowing an exception would set a bad precedent for willful noncompliance. Mayor Jamie Heard reiterated the council’s interest in enforcing ordinances.
The minutes note Morgan’s presentation of photos but do not record a formal council vote or a directive to reverse the citation or to grant an exemption. The ordinance cited in the minutes is said to have taken effect in 2011; council discussion at the meeting focused on consistency of enforcement rather than on a formal appeal process or a retroactive exemption.
