City forgives auctioneer on zoning
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 02:24 p.m., July 3, 2008
Updated 02:24 p.m., July 3, 2008
John Alvarado has been operating an auction business at 2032 W. Sixth Ave. since last year. Now, he’ll get to do so legally.
The city commission learned at its action meeting Wednesday that Alvarado had been running Variety Sales & Auction on the property without the required conditional use permit.
Rather than slap handcuffs on Alvarado or make an impromptu motion to fine him, the commission approved a conditional use permit for the building, with a review coming within six months, and gave Alvarado what amounted to a light scolding while discussing possible reforms to zoning enforcement.
Meanwhile, Alvarado believes the city should classify auction facilities as commercial properties. Because they’re not, and because 2032 W. Sixth Ave. is zoned as a general commercial property, he needed the permit. He said auction facilities in other towns are classified as commercial.
“Emporia ... is the only one that I have found that has auction facilities classified as light industrial,” he said.
In late 2004, Alvarado submitted a request to the Emporia-Lyon County Metropolitan Area Planning Commission for a conditional use permit on a different building on the same tract of land. The planning commission denied that request, but Alvarado soon opened his auction business at 526 Albert St.. That building was zoned light industrial, allowing him to hold auctions there. Last year, the building was sold, and Alvarado had to move his business out.
“I took four or five months off, something like that, and then at that time, I had such a request to reopen it,” he said after the meeting. “And at that point, I went and stepped out on a limb, knowing what could come of it.”
He moved the business to 2032 W. Sixth Ave., which had been vacant for seven years. He knew “in some sense,” he said, that running his business there would be illegal.
Planning Commission Secretary Kevin Hanlin said Wednesday that Alvarado received a letter from the city in April or May stating he needed a conditional use permit to keep operating the auction business on the property.
“He got the application turned in, (and) he asked me if he could keep operating until the hearing, until the decision was made here,” Hanlin said. “That’s typically what we do, is when we have a zoning violation, (if) the applicant or the violator starts the proper course to take care of it, they’re allowed to continue the use until it’s decided what the outcome is.”
Alvarado told the commission about the issue he had with the city’s zoning regulations regarding auction houses, saying those facilities operate just like a commercial business and pay retail sales tax. Commissioners were receptive to his viewpoint.
“I wish you had gotten it straightened out before you used it again,” Commissioner Jim Kessler said, “but I’m willing to move forward on it.”
Before the vote to approve, Commissioner Kevin Nelson said perhaps staff should discuss how to handle situations like this one in the future.
“Because once we discover something is being operated without the proper permit or is within the wrong zone, just continuing to allow it, I think, might be (something for) further discussion.”
Johnson was in agreement.
“It seems to me,” she said, “that that policy might encourage people to start operating outside of what our zoning languages are — knowing that, once they’re advised for that, they can continue operation until it’s determined. I don’t know, it seems like kind of a backward way of doing things.”
After the meeting, Mayor Bob Agler said Alvarado broke the law, but like Johnson and Nelson, Agler wanted to look at the city’s zoning enforcement system. He didn’t have any desire to punish Alvarado for the unauthorized business venture.
“You can spend a whole lot of time dredging up things in the past and trying to make issues out of them,” Agler said. “And how fruitful is it as opposed to (fixing the problem now)? Maybe part of it (is) we need to be more expedient.”
In other activity Wednesday, commissioners:
• Approved the 2009-2013 capital improvement plan. The CIP, a list of city equipment, refurbishment and infrastructure needs listed by priority within each city department, calls for more than $20.7 million worth of improvements in 2009, but the CIP has no revenue source for full funding.
• Approved a change order in the plans for the Norfolk Iron and Metal storm sewer relocation project that reduces the cost of the project by $400. City Manager Matt Zimmerman told the commission that items believed necessary at the time that engineering work was done on the project have been determined not to be necessary.
• Approved an ordinance authorizing the discharge of firearms at shooting ranges within city limits. The ordinance follows a measure that approved shooting ranges as a conditional use in the city’s corporate limits. Connie and Larry Lewis plan to open an outdoor shooting range on Sixth Avenue between Graphic Arts Road and Overlander Road.
• Tabled appointments to the new Accessibility Advisory Committee until more applications are received. The ordinance establishing the committee, adopted on June 4, called for seven committee members. Thus far, the city has received eight applications.
• Continued review of the city’s “small-fund” budgets for 2009 and began discussion of the general-fund budget in a special work session. The city will conduct its second draft review of the utility fund budget at next Wednesday’s work session and review the general fund again on either July 23 or July 30..
Comments
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Posted by gayzettesux (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 9:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Way to set a double standard Emporia. So they'll go around charging people $500 if your grass is too tall but they don't do a thing to somebody operating an illegal business? It really goes to show what knowing people in government will get you.
Posted by Wasp (anonymous) on July 4, 2008 at 12:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
These zoning laws are just another reason we need to fight the Revolutionary War again!
Posted by CassieJo (anonymous) on July 4, 2008 at 2:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
He moved the business to 2032 W. Sixth Ave., which had been vacant for seven years. He knew “in some sense,” he said, that running his business there would be illegal.
After the meeting, Mayor Bob Agler said Alvarado broke the law, but like Johnson and Nelson, Agler wanted to look at the city’s zoning enforcement system. He didn’t have any desire to punish Alvarado for the unauthorized business venture.
Light scolding???
What a crock-o-shyt!!!
Posted by hottopics (anonymous) on July 4, 2008 at 1:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We have more important matters to vent about. People are just trying to earn a dang living. But if he knew it was illegal.....not to mention how long it took them to figure it out. He is on the main drag.
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