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Regular City Council Meeting <br />Monday, January 12, 2009 <br />Page 9 <br />Mr. Munson displayed an aerial photo of the property, and other photos taken <br />from adjacent properties, indicating those concerns and code violations, causing <br />neighbors to continue to express their discouragement with the situation adjoining <br />their residential properties. Pictures evidenced equipment and vehicles stored <br />where nursery stock was supposed to be located and a buffer between properties, <br />that was not in place; other pictures evidenced retaining wall materials being <br />stored on site; dirt piled in front of the property rather than in the rear; and equip- <br />ment parked on the front yard setback, and on railroad right-of--way, all in viola- <br />tion of the SUP. <br />Mr. Munson advised that the Prosecuting Attorney was in agreement with staff in <br />proceeding with a citation; and that the intent was to protect the integrity of area <br />residential housing and the neighborhood and negative affects on adjoining prop- <br />erty values due to overuse of this site. <br />Councilmember Ihlan clarified that the staff report had itemized City Code viola- <br />tions, both current and previous codes, as well as SUP violations; and asked <br />whether a majority of those violations were applicable under current City Code, <br />or any aspects that were only violations of the 1976 SUP. <br />Mr. Munson confirmed that the violations were subject to the original site plan as <br />approved as part of the SUP approval; in violation of City Code for setbacks in ef- <br />fect in 1976, as referenced, as well as in violation of today's standards. <br />Mr. Dwayne Albrecht, Property Owner <br />Mr. Albrecht stated that no one wants to face this. He was young when he pur- <br />chased the property and the City's Planner, Mr. Dahlgren, drew up the plan on <br />what we could and couldn't do, and we went along with it. Mr. Albrecht contin- <br />ued by advising that shortly thereafter, certain aspects of those uses were totally <br />impractical, and with costs of land and taxes on that property, it became impracti- <br />cal to hold nursery stock there. Mr. Albrecht advised that he had brought this is- <br />sue to the City's attention on numerous occasions to no avail. <br />Mr. Albrecht advised that two pieces of the equipment shown in staff's picture <br />were in the process of being picked up by John Deere, and other pieces had sales <br />pending. Mr. Albrecht alleged that he had planted screening vegetation on the <br />buffer between his and neighboring residential properties; however, when the City <br />did work on the easement a number of years ago, they had stripped that screening <br />to accomplish that work, and not replaced it sufficiently. <br />Mr. Albrecht advised that, 18 years ago when the City was struggling with the <br />Center Pointe project, he had put together a coalition of property owners to con- <br />struct asenior citizen high rise building located on the other side of the pond from <br />the tower, even paying a contractor to draw up plans. Mr. Albrecht further ad- <br />vised that when he applied to the City for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) ap- <br />