The conditional use permit for one of two businesses operated from the CVT Towing lot on the northwest corner of Weston and Slack streets was revoked following a hearing in front of the Pea Ridge Planning Commission Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Vicki Hillburn, business owner, offered reasons and excuses for the violations enumerated by planners and city building official Tony Townsend.
"It's not just the actions taken by this organization," planner Donnie Ewald said, "but all the other businesses that are following the rules that are appropriate. We have to be fair across the board ... It's not just in regards to this one business. It's to all the businesses across the community."
CVT had a conditional use permit for the towing business and a vehicle transport business. At one time, vehicles were also sold from the lot.
Violations included blocking Weston Street when backing in large trucks, painting a trailer on the lot, building a structure without a permit, selling cars on the lot, selling tires from the lot, loading and unloading vehicles in neighbors' parking lots, accepting livestock in exchange for services and placing it in a residential lot, working on trailers in a residential neighborhood and overall housekeeping of the lot.
Hillburn said some of the violations were by former employees.
"We don't generally load or unload on the street," Hillburn said. "When we're backing in or pulling out, obviously it takes a minute."
"I've witnessed it myself in the last six to eight weeks," Dr. Karen Sherman, planner, said. "I don't know if they were loading or unloading, but there were cars backed up for quite a ways with the truck just parked there blocking traffic."
"A tractor sat in the turn lane for an hour without the trailer," Townsend said, adding, "we've had several other people saying it was blocked and had to wait for oncoming traffic to get around."
Hillburn said every time she received a complaint, she stopped the practice such as parking at the Dollar store and at the church, both across the street. She said when the building official told her she couldn't sell cars, she stopped. As for selling tires, she said that was for a 10-year-old girl trying to earn money for school clothes and she didn't know it wasn't acceptable.
Planners asked Pea Ridge Police Capt. Chris Olson whether police had been notified of complaints. Olson said they had received numerous complaints about blocking of Weston Street.
"We're trying to clean up the front yard," Hillburn said.
"We have a conditional use permit that has violated all of our conditional uses that was granted. In light of that, we're expected to remove the conditional use permit from that location. I hate to say that," Sherman said, adding that she had a stack of complaints dating from as far back as 2011 with the same issues.
"You're trying to put a tuna into a sardine can," Jerry Burton, planner, said. "After the last meeting, I sat for 15 minutes at that stop sign trying to get through... It was too large. You've built the building there that made it more crowded."
Hillburn asked whether the motion was for LJ Carriers or CVT Towing which she said are two different businesses.
"For tonight, it's the transport business," Sherman said. "It appears you've outgrown your lot."
City attorney Howard Slinkard said Hillburn could have 30 days to relocate the business and she could be fined if she continued to operate at that site after the deadline.
In other business, planners approved a rezone request for Lot 4 in Givens Place Subdivision from Commercial 1 to Residential 1. A reqest for a mobile home at 998 Poten Spur was tabled as no representative for the property owner was present.
General News on 12/14/2016