on 10/31/03 8:06 AM, Mark Snyder at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Just to clarify, the owner of Duigi's was not "socked with a $100,000 > relicensing fee" > > What occurred was city inspectors apparently informed the owner that > upgrades were needed before a new license could be issued and that expense > was estimated to be $100,000.
Can't speak to the Duigi's situation, but there's another one next to me where the caf� owner applied for a license change, had the required inspection � and found out the building was not in compliance with a 1999 zoning code change requiring that roof storm water run off go into the ground, not the city storm sewer. Long story short, it cost the person $3,500 plus sweat equity to fix, and they couldn't get the license in time for the lucrative summer dining season. Now, is it the city's fault? The business owner said the building owner didn't know about the 1999 change, and the city should have provided clearer information up front. On the other hand, that's what a license process is for. It doesn't always go as quickly as ideal, but that's not always the city's fault. Plus, separating storm water run off from sewer water is VITAL environmentally, and there's no reason the city should pay private costs. My point is that some costly rules - even what seem like onerous city regulations - do have a legitimate public purpose. NOT saying that's the case with Duigi's. And at least based on what I read on the Doug Grow case (no "e" at the end of his name, people - that's Joan Growe) I agree with Vicki Heller: this constitutes a taking since the guy's project had been approved, and that should constitute an illegal taking (sez the non-lawyer). Again, though, some rules make good sense. The city 'forced' me to do some upgrades on my house when I remodeled, which I believe were reasonable to improve safety, both mine and the public's. David Brauer Kingfield REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
