Lakeside City Administrator under fire

Charlie Hill on left with city Attorney Fredrick Carlton

Prompted by confusion over Ordinance 07-258 Amend 168 article 4 (recreational vehicles and travel trailers) a large crowd was in attendance at the regular May city council meeting.

The meeting was without acrimony until public input when Douglas Lendahl stated, “city administrator Charlie Hill, came to my house, told me my nephew couldn’t sleep in his R.V. in my driveway.”

Past councilor Gary Wilson questioned, “are you telling me I can’t have friends come up and stay a week or ten days in my driveway?” As it happens, Wilson was a sitting councilor in 2007 when the amendment to the ordinance in question was approved and signed by the previous mayor, Orville Nelson.

City Attorney, Fred Carlton interjected, “that the city certainly could be provided with several variations and present it to the planning commission.” like an allowable number of weeks per year.

He went on to say that the planning process is a regulatory matter, one that must be followed. A zoning ordinance normally goes to the planning commission particularly when it is a land use matter.

Not to be deterred, Lendahl again reiterated and continued in the same vein unsatisfied, claiming Hill didn’t know what she was talking about, saying when he went to city hall the next day she couldn’t show him in the ordinance what she was claiming.

Recognizing the unintended ramifications of the newly revised ordinance current Mayor Rod Schilling and council have directed the Attorney to look into it. Schilling said, “it won’t be settled tonight, it will be on the agenda next month, public comments will be taken.”

When contacted by Lakesideinfo.com Schilling stated, “at this time it has been turned over to legal council for a “fix” that is equitable to all the citizens of Lakeside and not open to interpretation.”

In the interim, Hill has put out a letter to clarify what current policy is, until revisions can be  made.