Normally, additional housing would be favored by leaders of a growing city. Especially one experiencing a shortage of residential units, like Litchfield.
Sometimes, though, the promise of new housing has to be weighed carefully against the potential issues such housing might create.
Such was the case when the Litchfield City Council unanimously — but with vocal reluctance — approved a plan for a local house mover to place four structures on four separate lots in the city.
Approval of conditional use permits for the four properties, required when a house is older than 10 years, came during the City Council’s Aug. 17 meeting, but only with a $10,000 performance bond attached. The bond was necessary, according to staff and some city council members, because of past performance by house mover Rick Rossow.
“You can make a decision based on issues we’ve had before,” City Administrator Dave Cziok said as he explained the conditional use permits and performance bond to the City Council. “If he doesn’t meet the obligations of the (CUP agreement), we can fall back on it.”
Rossow plans to move the houses to 315 E. 10th St., 1012 N. Armstrong Ave., 616 N. Ramsey Ave. and 525 N. Miller Ave. Those vacant properties have been deemed nuisance properties in the past, then were cleaned up, Cziok said. But staff has reported that grass was getting long again recently.
The city has previously attached performance bonds to Rossow projects, including in 2012 when Rossow moved a house from South Miller Street to an open lot at 333 E. Third St. In that case, the city attached a $30,000 bond, giving Rossow from May to Sept. 1 to move the house and obtain a certificate of occupancy, which verifies the structure complies with city ordinance. Rossow missed the deadline, and the City Council appeared ready to pull the bond, but relented when he obtained the required certificate four days late.
Like that 2012 bond, the bond proposed at the Aug. 17 City Council meeting is intended to provide funds for the city to complete the project and pay attorney fees if necessary.
Cziok told City Council members they could extend review of the proposed moves 60 days, or even send the proposal back to the Planning Commission, which recommended approval of the conditional use permits, contingent upon the drafting of a CUP agreement that set out timeline and requirements for the moves.
“The Planning Commission’s discussion centered around the ability of the Applicant to complete the process of moving and establishing the homes as well as continued maintenance, so long as he is the property owner,” City Planner Hannah Rybak wrote in a memo to the Council.
Rossow has retired, giving him “additional time to devote to maintaining his rental properties and completing the house moves,” Rybak’s memo added, and he was OK with a CUP Agreement that would “specify benchmarks and timelines for each project that would satisfy the City’s need to ensure the house moves were completed in a timely manner and meet all code requirements.”
Those reassurances seemed to do little to sway Council members from their concerns, however.
“These lots are not maintained,” Mayor Keith Johnson said of the properties to which Rossow planned to move the houses. “I’m glad this is being pushed. It’s just unsightly.”
Council member Darlene Kotelnicki asked who would be responsible for monitoring the progress of the moves and preparing the houses for occupancy. The city code enforcement officer will review the work and ensure its progress, Cziok said.
“We’re concerned about these projects moving in an efficient manner,” Cziok said, and although staff “don’t want to use the performance bond … we have that at our disposal.”
Eric Mathwig, the City Council’s representative on the Planning Commission, said that despite past issues, he thought it right to allow the developer to proceed.
“I guess it’s my opinion we give Rick one last chance here,” Mathwig said. “If he fails at it, he fails at it. That’s his choice.”
After the City Council approved four separate resolutions, clearing the way for the house moves, Johnson offered a parting wish as Rossow and his attorney prepared to leave the Council chambers.
“I just hope that you can do a great job with these buildings,” Johnson said.
