Residents press for enforcement as city staff propose clarifying auto‑repair storage rules

City planner Natalie Burczyk presented a code analysis aimed at removing ambiguity about whether vehicles associated with auto‑repair businesses count as "outdoor storage" that must be screened from view.

Burczyk explained the municipal code distinguishes short‑term vehicle storage (no more than 21 days) from long‑term storage and currently requires outdoor storage visible from residential areas to be screened. She told commissioners the proposal would clarify that operable and inoperable vehicles in auto‑service contexts are treated as vehicle storage (with screening and time‑limit rules) rather than generic outdoor storage, to bring the code in line with practical enforcement.

Resident Anthony Kleinmachter testified he has reported problems at Schmidt Transmission on the 900 block of First Street East for years and said he has spent more than $10,000 in attorney fees trying to compel enforcement. "I've repeatedly and consistently supplied the city with documented evidence and violations via photos and video... Nothing since then has been done," he said.

Attorney Sandra, representing the resident, urged the commission not to use the code rewrite to relax obligations: she said existing ordinance language already requires screening and that failure to enforce creates a municipal nuisance. City billing official Leonard Schwinn and the prosecutor and city attorney addressed enforcement logistics, saying clearer code language is needed to allow uniform enforcement; staff recommended notifying all potentially affected businesses and preparing a zoning text amendment for public hearing.

Commissioners directed staff to draft amendments, notify businesses within 300 feet of identified properties, and return the item for public hearing in September.