Police complaint led to appearance before council, matter sent to committee

Need a good car doctor but don’t want to travel? If that describes you, Adam Hitts could be your man—pending variance approval from the City Zoning Committee. The Moon Park resident and owner of Here and There Automotive, LLC appeared before the Common Council “Before we have our committee meeting, there’s two things I want to ask: what are you expecting to be able to do there, and what are you asking for in the variance?” city alderman and zoning committee member Kent Barby asked Hitts after alderwoman Laurie Foster raised questions on chemicals to be used in mechanical work. Hitts shared that he was a graduate of CVTC and had started his home-based business in January, going full-time for the past three months. Listed online at its website as located at 809 N. Broadway Street, a complaint by someone to the police had resulted in Hitts learning he was in breach of city ordinance.

“I’m asking and applying for a variance,” he said of his mobile mechanic business for which he was seeking a permanent home, working from his own in the meantime.

“It was ninety percent mobile,” he said of the business started in the country. “The only thing I would have done at the house would have been motors, transmissions, or heater cores,” he told the council, citing the “labor-intensive” nature of these types of jobs as a reason for doing so.

“I have a purchase agreement already lined up,” he said, but he needed the temporary variance in order to purchase a place in town. “If I don’t have it, it would be tougher, or I might possibly not be able to reach the goal to finalize the agreement,” he said. Asking the council for three months as a “realistic” time frame for the variance from city code. “So far it’s been succeeding and growing,” he said of the business he started “out in the country” where there were no ordinances on the matter.

“I am apologizing for not reading through all the ordinances to make sure I was in compliance,” Hitts said. After finding out, he had read 292 pages of local law codes.

“So I am well versed,” he said of city rules. A few council members had questions for Hitts.

“So you’re a resident and your looking to reside in the community?” alderman Mark Fitzsimmons asked. “And your looking at a business “Yes,” Hix said.

“Do you have any concerns or incidents that you’ve had down there?” Kevin Hendrickson asked Chief Lance Weiland of the residential address for Hitts’ business.

“No, we haven’t had any phone calls,” Weiland said from across the chamber. Alderwoman Laurie Foster was the next to question Hitts as he stood before the Council.

“Do you have any…like in case your anti-freeze or you oil, the haz-mat stuff for drainage so it doesn’t seep into the ground?” she asked him.

“Yes,” Hitts said. There were no tracks in the garage and everything was sloped toward the center.

“So if anything were to happen you just put a load of Floor-Dry and recycle it,” he said of spill precautions. Vehicles were done at the Hitts then asked if he could work from the garage while a final decision was being made.

“Why don’t we pick that up…at the meeting,” Barby said. “Because I’ve got a bunch of questions for you.” With more discussion following, the temporary variance was slated for consideration by the city zoning committee before ethe night was over, with Fitzsimmons making the motion and Barby seconding it.

Staff photo.