HUACHUCA CITY'S EX-MAYOR CHALLENGES PROPERTY-USE LAWS; SMALL-TOWN STAFF STYMIED
George Nerhan's multiple properties subject of multiple complaints
It’s a typical looking manufactured building, one of thousands situated throughout Cochise County, Arizona. But its presence since late 2014 in the small town of Huachuca City has come to symbolize the challenges and costs that arise when property owners challenge municipal codes, ordinances and state laws.
The problem with this particular 26’ x 60’ factory- built building (FBB) started soon after former mayor George Nerhan moved the used structure onto 302 South Howard Street, one of nearly two dozen parcels he owns in the town.
Although Nerhan had been issued a permit by Town Clerk Tammy Mitchell, some residents complained he was violating state laws and town codes. Eventually those complaints came to the attention of the Arizona Dept. of Fire, Building, and Life Safety, the regulatory agency which oversees FBBs (also known as manufactured buildings).
In a recent interview, acting agency director Debra Blake explained that her department is tasked with issuing permits for and inspecting FBBs, something she says Huachuca City officials are not authorized to do.
Blake confirmed her staff spent nearly 18 months dealing with 302 Howard Street, starting in Jan. 2015 when an inspector determined Nerhan’s FBB was in the “process of being installed without first obtaining the proper permits required by statute.”
Several attempts were made by her staff to resolve the issue with Nerhan until finally a formal Cease and Desist Order was issued in Sept. 2015. The Arizona Attorney General’s Office reviewed the matter at Blake’s request, but responded that there was nothing further the state could do about the situation because Nerhan is in compliance with the order to stop all work.
Permit types and authority to issue
In Nov 2014, town clerk Mitchell issued Nerhan a building permit for a “mobil (sic) home” to be moved onto 302 Howard Street. A nearby property owner complained that the permit application did not include a site plan as required by town code.
Mayor Ken Taylor insisted in a Dec. 2014 email that the permit was “legally issued” but the town later notified Nerhan the permit was cancelled.
A state inspector red-tagged the building and issued a stop work order in early Jan. 2015. The same inspector issued a second red-tag in Apr. 2015 following reports that additional work was performed in spite of the Jan. stop work order.
After the Cease and Desist Order was issued in Sept. 2015, Blake noted that a followup inspection earlier this year confirmed Nerhan has “ceased installation work on the building” as required by the order. Since then, the building has been sitting on the lot -- partially installed -- surrounded by several vehicles which do not appear to be in use.
For his part, Nerhan explained recently that at the time he was not aware of the need for a state Factory-Built Building (FBB) permit, but believes the double wide building “is a grandfathered use” for which he does not need town zoning approval.
Effect of the state's "stop work" order
AZ Fire, Building and Life Safety official Blake concedes that work was already performed without a proper state permit, but said her staff “has no authority to require the building to be removed from the site.”
“We’ve stopped him from moving forward” with the installation, Blake said, adding it is now “up to the town to decide how to proceed next,” although her agency could reopen the case if Nerhan violates the order.
Local resident Howie Frankens says the state’s position “creates one heck of a loophole. They say ‘we caught Mr. Nerhan doing something wrong and we’ve stopped him,’ but then they say ‘oh, sorry, we can’t do anything about the stuff he wasn’t supposed to do.’”
Jim Johnson, the town’s building official, was in contact with state officials about the problem for months and expected Blake’s agency would oversee the removal of the FBB if Nerhan did not follow through with the required permits and inspections.
Although “disappointed” by the state’s decision to pass the matter back to the town, he says his office recently mailed Nerhan a letter demanding he obtain the proper state permit and town approvals or remove the FBB. If Nerhan ignores the letter, Johnson said a second notice will be sent.
Johnson has previously advised the council that building use and zoning complaints can take months, sometimes years, to resolve, especially if court action is involved. “We’ll have to wait and see how George responds,” to the letter, Johnson said this week, “and then go from there.”
Some residents believe charging Nerhan with a town code violation will be complicated by the improperly issued permit he obtained from the town clerk. “He’ll say ‘you gave me a permit, so if you want the building moved you pay for it’ which won’t be cheap,” says Frankens.
Nerhan says he was never worried about the attorney general’s review and suggested the town “should be worrying about properties with contaminated soil, oil leaks and old gas tanks,” instead of spending its limited resources “worrying about how I use my property.”
Complaints about other Nerhan properties
If Huachuca City moves forward with legal action on 302 Howard Street, it will mark the third time in less than two years that the town has gone to court in disputes with Nerhan, who is currently running for town council.
Last year the town filed charges against Nerhan for ignoring notices of code violations at his Sunset Saloon on the main highway through town.
In that case, Huachuca City Municipal Court magistrate Keith Barth presided over a negotiated settlement requiring the removal of framework for an outdoor covered patio that was installed on the property without permits. The charges were dismissed once Nerhan had it taken down.
In the other matter, a pretrial conference was held in July about a dilapidated U.S. Army airplane tied down on one of Nerhan’s properties. According to Johnson, the plane is not approved under the parcel’s general business / commercial zoning designation, but Nerhan has refused repeated efforts to have the plane removed.
Judge Barth will hold a status review on Sept. 23 about the airplane case, for which Nerhan faces a fine of up to $2500 if found guilty of the class one misdemeanor.
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Contact reporter Terri Jo Neff at 520-508-3660 and cjw_media@yahoo.com