 |
| Photo by Deb Barnes The Citizen November 2010 |
Judge Orders Retaining Walls Removed in Centerville Criminal Case
CENTERVILLE - It took 76-year-old Norma Essex 14 years to build the block landscaping walls in her back yard on Old Mill Roadone block at a time. But unless those walls are completely removed by June 8, an Anoka County judge will order her to jail for 10 days.
Essex’s parole violation hearing on Jan. 26 was the latest in a series of hearings related to criminal charges filed by the City of Centerville Oct. 2, 2008. “I have a hard time putting my hands around this mess,” District Court Judge Jenny Walker Jasper said.
The city’s actions stemmed from complaints received from one of Essex’s neighbors along Clearwater Creek, City Administrator Dallas Larson told The Citizen in an interview last year. City Attorney Kurt Glaser said two of the walls, which are each under 4 feet in height, were constructed too close together to be considered separate structures, and when their heights are added together, the cumulative height invokes the requirement for a permit. Although Essex has made application, the city has thus far declined to issue the permit
The Experts Weigh In
Essex has said she never placed fill within the floodplain, a statement corroborated by a letter dated July 9, 2010 from Rice Creek Watershed District’s Water Resource Specialist Kyle Axtell. “Our review of the project site (as of Oct. 22, 2008) confirmed that no fill has been placed below the 100-year flood elevation,” Axtell said. “My suggestion would be to leave the retaining walls as they currently exist unless a substantial failure is expected … Disturbance of the embankment to rebuild the wall would undoubtedly cause much more harm to the resource than leaving it alone,” Axtell stated.
In response to Palzer’s (Public Works Director) request that she work with a certified design professional, Essex also obtained an opinion from landscape designer Alan Strohbehn of Goetz Landscape, Inc. “…I strongly believe (the walls) should be left alone,” Strohbehn said. They are in incredibly good shape for being built (14) years ago.” “There is no access for equipment,” Strohbehn added. “The steepness of the bank itself and existing tree roots will make it nearly impossible for crews to get a foothold to dig trenches and handle heavy blocks.”
Complaint-Driven Enforcement
The complaints against Essex were reportedly initiated at Centerville City Hall by her next-door neighbors, Timothy and Lori Glasow. Essex has had an ongoing feud with her neighbors. Last August, she obtained a Restraining Order following a series of incidents that a judge deemed to be harassment. Lori Glasow declined to comment when contacted for this story.
Like many other cities, the City of Centerville—lacking the funds to hire a full-time code enforcement officer—pursues code violations on a complaint basis. Essex and her attorney believe the city’s action was discriminatory. Erickson wrote in one court document, “The filing of the charges against Norma Essex is an exercise in discriminatory prosecution/selective prosecution in that over 30 different residences have been identified as having easement violations (of a similar nature to the bricks), none of which have been prosecuted.” As it stands now, Judge Walker Jasper ordered Essex to remove the walls by June 8 in what she called a “phased” plan. If the walls are not removed, Essex will spend 10 days in jail.
To read the entire story which has far greater detail, please follow this link
By Deb Barnes, Citizen Editor
Update 3/5/2011
I would like to thank everyone for their support and those who volunteered to spend a night in jail for me. I doubt the court would let you, but many thanks.
The City seems to want to punish me as hard as they can.
The bottom line is, I never needed a permit from the City for the retaining wall because it is under 4 feet. The city is using a 2006 code to justify their venture. The wall was built 10 years before the 2006 code was adopted.
You draw your own conclusion.
Norma
