Last Monday, a circuit court judge ordered the city of Quincy, Illinois, to make a decision about whether to allow Express Storage, a self storage facility operated by VLOH Enterprises, to have a building permit.
VLOH Enterprises previously operated Express Storage in Quincy, but the business was closed six years ago, because in 2003 Judge Dennis Cashman had barred VLOH from operating a self storage facility at that location (4329 N. 12th). At the time, the location was not zoned for self storage, but Express Storage was operating based on a special permit issued by the Quincy City Council in June 2001. Once the facility began operating, though, some residents objected to what they referred to as "spot zoning," and filed a lawsuit. Eventually, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the city had acted improperly in granting the special permit, and Express was closed. A few months after the closure, however, the city changed the zoning laws, allowing self storage businesses to operate in rural areas, and granting VLOH a special permit.
But VLOH did not request a building permit until last April (a year ago). When the building permit was requested, the city delayed making a decision, because city of Quincy attorneys believed that the prior court order still applied. Quincy's assistant corporation counsel, Chris Scholz, argued that if the city allowed Express Storage to operate at the same location, it could be held in contempt of court for violating the previous court order. Scholz claimed that the city had no objection to VLOH rebuilding Express Storage, but told the Quincy Herald-Whig that "I don't see any way around denying the building permit...We have gone to great lengths to obey the court's ruling."
As the process dragged out, VLOH filed a lawsuit against the city to compel it to make a decision about the building permit, and argued that the prior dispute no longer applied, because the zoning laws had changed since then.
This week, Circuit Court Judge Mark Drummond ruled on the case. The judge told the city that it could make whatever decision it chose to, but it would have to process the permit, either granting or denying it.
Sources used:
Husar, Edward. "Judge tells city to either approve or deny permit for self-storage facility to move legal process forward." The Quincy Herald-Whig. April 6, 2010.
"Judge demands Illinois city make a decision about self-storage permit." Inside Self-Storage. April 7, 2010.