This blog printed on 100% recycled electrons.
Last week the Lake County Commission put the kaibosh on Matt and Cindy Larson's new house at the end of 459th Avenue on Lake Madison... or did they? The Larsons make the argument in Tuesday's MDL that the county needs to get a court order to stop construction. States attorney Ken Meyer says the county's decision to rescind the building permit is sufficient to end the project. The Larsons maintain that, without an official cease and desist order, (Elisa Sand's wording) "they are being forced to continue construction."
Forced to continue construction? I'm still trying to figure that one out. I can imagine that maybe the Larsons' contractors are saying, "Hey, you have a contract with us to build. We can't break that contract unless a court tells us it's o.k. to break."
But don't you think Ken Meyer would have thought of that? Builders know they can only work where there is a valid permit. The county invalidated the permit. Therefore, it would seem any nail driven since the county's decision last week has been a violation of the law. Put the hammers down, boys, and get ready for more lawyering.
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That didn't make sense to me at first either, but I think they wanted that so they could file a court case right away, otherwise they have to appeal the building permit I believe.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's time that we hire a county building inspector. We could jack up the costs of a building permit to fund his salary.
ReplyDeleteThe Larsons have tried to play "dumb" through this whole process. When you take out a county building permit and file your plat plan, you sign your name stating that you understand that all zoning ordinances must be followed. The permit is only an indication of what you intend to do. Larsons have not provided the drawings, elevations and measurements required by zoning rules, and when questioned, they always respond, "We didn't know that" and "Nobody told us about that." Come on, they are both licensed realtors and they know the rules. Pleading ignorance will get them nowhere.
ReplyDeleteFrom what Anon 3:54 says, it doesn't sound like we need a building inspector, just an enforcement by the commission of the rules already in place.
ReplyDeleteCory:
ReplyDeleteThere has been a push for a building inspector for a long time. In other more civilized parts of the country, building inspectors are an integral part of the construction process.
A building inspector makes sure things are done the right way...by code.
If I were a potential house buyer, I would want assurances that my contractor did not shortcut any construction.
At the recent County Commission meeting that discussed the poor farm and creating a public access area, Commission Chairman, Bert Verhey stated that the County could build it without GFP monies, that the budget is solid right now. Why not partner with the City on a building inspector? If money is not the problem, the County increased all their fees recently, so a building inspector would eliminate some of these issues and provide us with safer buildings and homes.
ReplyDeleteIf memory serves me, Matt and Cindy Larson purchased their original lake home from Steve and Sonja Ohl, kept it a couple of years and made a bundle selling it, plus kept some of the original lake frontage land.
ReplyDeleteThey just want to repeat the process and make another bundle at everyone else's expense by putting a house in the middle of the road, blocking the neighbor's view and building on an unbuildable pie-shaped lot that won't pass zoning codes. They were hoping that none of the neighbors were looking. No sympathy here.
Once the house is built, then what?
ReplyDeleteIs the county going to hound the Larsons like they did Charlie Scholl in Winfred or harass them like they did Dick W?