PrintFONTANA - A property owner whose land was annexed into the city says the planning division has run afoul of her rights.
Tami Wetzel claims the agency has refused to extend a conditional use permit granted by San Bernardino County for a southside lot because it wants the money it would cost her to file for a new permit.
"As long as you're paying the city, you're in the good," Wetzel said.
The county on May 20, 2005, approved a permit for Wetzel's family-owned company, Pioneer Properties, to store, fix and sell trucks and trailers on a lot at 11104 Almond Ave.
Pioneer proposed to build a 1,400-square-foot office and a 6,000-square-foot workshop, conditions, which, if not met within three years, would deem the permit null and void, according to the county.
The city annexed the property on Sept. 19, 2006.
Code-enforcement officials last December responded to a complaint from a neighbor about light intrusions into his property.
Officials discovered that a light tower was erected without a permit, only the office had been built and the lot was used to store cars, not trucks and trailers.
Don Williams, director of community development, said Tuesday the violations wouldn't have been discovered had the neighbor not reported the light intrusion.
"We have a reactive code-enforcement policy," Williams said.
Pioneer leased the lot to a car auction company, a practice Wetzel says is not only in compliance with the permit, but a good-neighbor move because the cars won't emit the level of smog produced by the trucks, sparing students at Kaiser High School across the street.
Code-enforcement officials in February cited Pioneer for violating the permit by storing the cars; they also cited the company for other violations, including a blocked emergency entrance and block walls not in compliance.
Wetzel wrote the city in April asking for an extension to take care of the fines and meet the conditions of the permit.
In May, she and her father, Lee Wetzel, a partner in the company, met with Williams to discuss the use of the property.
The Wetzels noted on the site plan that the workshop was only proposed and wasn't necessary to receive an extension for a permit.
Williams said the Wetzels said they had no intention of building the shop, which they deny.
Williams said the entire site, not just the workshop, remains under proposal until all the conditions of the permit are met. The site would not receive final certification until the shop is built and the violations are taken care of, he said.
The planning division in June denied Wetzel's written request for an extension.
"The city is going to dictate what we can do on our property," Wetzel said.
Her permit is invalid and she needs to apply for a new one, Williams said.
That's how the city is trying to squeeze money out of her and other business owners annexed into the city, according to Wetzel.
Williams denied the accusation.
"That is a mistaken belief on her part," Williams said. "The fees they would have to pay would not begin to cover the amount of money we've spent."
He said the city has worked with hundreds who have transitioned from the county to the city, and most have opened their businesses with no problem.
Wetzel goes before the City Council on Oct. 14 to ask for an extension of the permit.
If the request is denied, she said she will sue the city.
