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Double garage man Travis Hickey criticizes MC code enforcement officers

Travis Hickey lashed out at City Hall employees this week
Travis Hickey lashed out at City Hall employees this week

MASON CITY – City council member and delivery man Travis Hickey says that Mason City code enforcement officers are going about their jobs all wrong.

The city has two code enforcement officers listed on its website, Jim Sberal and Kyle Peterson.

At a work session held earlier this week, city documents show that Hickey “mentioned his concern over the two code enforcement officers being reactive”.

Hickey said the officers do not enforce any codes on their own, but instead typically “wait until someone complained”.

He said the code enforcement officers are “just spot enforcing”.

Hickey's garages, never connected as ZBA mandated
Hickey’s garages, never connected as ZBA mandated

Hickey himself dealt with code enforcement on his own property in 2010.  He had purchased the lot (and accompanying house and garage) next door to his home at 920 North Fillmore Avenue and created one taxable parcel.   City code allowed for only one house and one garage on a parcel, however, and he was told to remove one house and one garage.  He only removed the next door house and kept the second garage.

When Hickey later applied for a permit to add-on to his house, city staff investigated his property and found the second garage to be illegal, and he was warned that the second garage must be removed.

Ignoring that order, Hickey months later went before the Zoning Board of Adjustment in October of 2010 to get a conditional use permit so he could keep his second garage.

Despite the board admitting they were “opening a can of worms“, Hickey was granted the conditional use permit, allowing him to keep the second garage, but only under the condition that he connect the two garages with a 8′ x 10′  walkway.

Hickey never followed through with the board’s order to connect his two garages.

After three new city council members were elected in 2011, the zoning laws were changed so that Hickey’s two garages on his property are legal.

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