Posted on 03/16/2003 1:50:37 PM PST by bonesmccoy
Fence owner faces charge Property owner alleges retaliation By Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell , Staff Writer
LA HABRA -- Jeff Collison, owner of the property on which the now-famous Sept. 11, 2001, memorial fence is located, received papers Thursday from the city's prosecutor charging him with misdemeanor failure to obtain city licenses and permits.
City Prosecutor Cynthia Blaylock said these charges are unrelated to this week's developments concerning the fence.
Included in Thursday's charges are failure to obtain a required business license, failure to get a conditional-use permit required for recreational vehicle sales and rentals, failure to build a 6- foot masonry wall between his business and neighboring buildings and failing to maintain a front yard of not less than 15 feet on the property.
Collison, who owns The RV Center on Whittier Boulevard, said the charges and notification of a court appearance March 27 at the North Justice Center in Fullerton came as a shock during a week when the patriotic fence on his property was propelled into the national spotlight.
American flags were burned and slashed Sunday by vandals who also changed tribute messages on the site into antiwar language. A Whittier Daily News story Tuesday drew nationwide attention on the Internet's Drudge Report, igniting a blizzard of e-mails critical of the vandals and handling of the case by La Habra police.
"I purchased this property last July, and I had hired a civil engineer to negotiate with the city on getting the conditional-use permit, and I had no contact regarding this by the city,' he said. "I can't help thinking (that this is retaliatory) because it was issued on March 11, the day after we made a big fuss about the vandalism of the fence with the police ... and I will file a lawsuit against the city and the Police Department.'
Blaylock and La Habra Chief of Police Dennis R. Kies on Thursday denied that the criminal charges had anything to do with the situation at the memorial fence.
"I drafted the criminal complaint against him a week and a half ago, and I knew nothing about the fence when I did it,' Blaylock said. "We can't ignore people violating the law because something else happened.'
According to Kies, this case has been in the works since July, 2002 when Collison moved his business to the property on Whittier Boulevard.
"He needed a CUP for storage, rental and sales of the motor homes he stores and also a business license, so he had someone come in on his behalf and prepare the request for the CUP,' said Kies. "In October, the Planning Department returned the application to Jeff because more information was needed. Then a final notice was sent to him in January saying this is your final notice because you haven't complied with the CUP.'
In addition, Kies said, in January, Collison started storing motor homes on the property across the street on Whittier Boulevard, where the memorial fence is, and needed the same CUP for that.
"Because of this ... the prosecutor determined that Collison should be prosecuted, and that was well before the current incident,' said Kies. "This has been an ongoing issue and Mr. Collison is aware of that.'
Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell can be reached at (562) 698-0955, Ext. 3028, or by e- mail at debbie.pfeiffer@sgvn.com .
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