City Addresses Resident's Complaints

At Wednesday’s work session, Director Pam Conner addressed the complaints brought forth by Powder Springs resident Brian Eckart at last week’s legislative meeting.

In a with the City Council at the Sept. 19 meeting, Eckart questioned the construction permit on his home originally being $100 but for renewal being raised to $2,178.

Conner said the original permit in July 2008 was $50, not $100, and that rate was based on Eckart saying the renovations would cost $10,000.

But, she added, it was later discovered the cost of construction was actually much higher, resulting in the raised fee.

Also on Sept. 19, Eckart claimed to have been harassed by city employees, who he said snuck onto his property.

In October 2008, Conner said employees of visited Eckart’s property because he had asked about extending a drainage pipe. While there, they noted he was clearing plants on and bringing materials into the flood plain behind his house.

These violations of flood plain ordinances prompted a stop-work order against Eckart, Conner said.

“At no time did we enter their property without their permission or (Eckart’s) presence,” she said.

The director did note that city employees photographed the violations from a trail behind the house and from a neighbor’s yard with the neighbor’s permission.

Eckart argued that the flood plain didn’t exist and that the issuance of the stop-work order wasn’t justified, Conner said, adding the flood maps were reviewed and showed his backyard in the flood plain.

Further on Sept. 19, Eckart discussed the back of his home being unfinished and exposed, which would allow cold in during the upcoming winter.

Conner said Eckart brought that problem about because “he removed the back of his house in February of 2009 after he was issued the stop work order.”

She added: “Because he continued to work in the flood plain and violate the stop-work order, he was issued citations, he was found guilty, he was fined (and) issued a special assessment, never paid, so there is a lien on his property.”

In February 2010, Eckart submitted a letter from FEMA showing his house was outside the flood plain, Conner said. The city agreed to reinstate his permit, she added, but with several conditions, one of them being that he had to remove construction materials from the flood plain.

“Then from Feb. 1 when you made that decision to approve it to June, he argued about whether or not he needed to remove the stuff that you said he needed to remove from the flood plain,” Conner said.

At the end of the public discussion, the council went into executive session with Community Development staff and Powder Springs’ solicitor to discuss pending litigation with Eckart’s permit and fines.