Post by Poor Richard on Jun 6, 2021 18:44:05 GMT -7
2021 Violation - House Built With Steel Storage Containers
Violates Covenants, Master Plan and GLA Board Policy
On February 18, 2021, the owners of parcel SG 95-B in High South Glastonbury filed an application for building a house. The parcel is 2.88 acres. The owners agreed to follow the Covenants and Master Plan when they purchased the property, required of all GLA landowners. They also agreed to pay for all attorney and court costs should their project be found "non-compliant." And, they agreed to cover all teardown costs and return the land to its original state if demolition was required.
The 1997 Covenants, section 5.05 Nuisances and Eyesores, prohibits "nuisances and eyesores" and gives the GLA Board the "discretion and authority" to determine what an eyesore is and require its removal. The GLA has the right to create policies and/or rules that further define and reinforce what is in the Covenants. Per a motion in the September 1999 GLA Minutes 6.3, metal cargo containers were banned for above ground construction by the GLA. In February of 2007, landowners overwhelmingly passed the Master Plan. The Master Plan section 2.0, page 10 states, "Storage Containers that are in view of a road are considered a nuisance and an eyesore" which reinforces the Covenant's 5.05 language and the 1999 GLA board prohibition.
Drawings and a floor plan were submitted along with the application. The floor plans refer to the building as a "Container House." They include several references to 8-foot containers. But it is not clear that the house is to be built with old, steel shipping containers. An architectural rendering does not provide any insight either to the use of shipping containers. The architectural rendering of the finished house is below.
This is what the landowners promised the GLA they would build.
The architectural drawings submitted to the GLA board depict a 3-section two story house built on a foundation or concrete slab. A garage fronts the ground floor. A patio sits above the garage and in front of a great room with floor-to-ceiling windows. The garage has stucco siding with large floor-to-ceiling windows on one side. The second-floor great room has a wing with a small balcony at the end. Large windows and stained wood siding adorn the second story. A shed style roof covers the entire building.
A site inspection was scheduled for March 3 at 1:30 PM, by Project Review Chair Gerald Dubiel. Normally two members of the Project Review Committee conduct the inspection. Director John McAlister was invited to participate. Inexplicably, Dubiel changed the inspection date to March 2nd and committee member McAlister was not able to attend. According to Dubiel, everything was fine with the project.
The property owner was very anxious to get started and brought in heavy equipment for excavation before the project was approved. On March 4, four days before the March 8 Project Review Committee meeting, Dubiel presented an email motion to the GLA Board to approve the project. It failed to receive a second when another director pointed out that the project must first go before the Project Review Committee.
On the March 8, 2021 Project Review Committee meeting, the SG 95-B project was at the top of the agenda. The meeting minutes show that the project was quickly accepted and voted on per Dubiel's approval. The use of steel storage containers was never mentioned in the meeting minutes or committee’s discussion. The landowner was present at the call-in meeting. He was asked if he had sent in his check for the Project Review fees. He replied that he had "put it in the mail the prior week." On March 10, the landowner was given permission to commence construction.
By March 16, the check still had not arrived. On April 5, almost a month into construction, the landowner was asked again for the check. He replied, "it is in the mail". At the April 15, 2021 Project Review Committee meeting, the minutes record that John McAlister motioned, and seconded by Charlotte Mizzi, for the Committee to send a “Cease & Desist Letter to be in effect until the fees are received.” Furthermore, “a $250 fine is imposed until the Board receives the filing fees and fine.” Motion passed with a 3-0 voted. The letter was sent and the landowner put a check in the mail which was eventually received by the GLA.
In late April, complaints started to come in from Glastonbury landowners regarding the unsightly steel storage containers on parcel SG 95-B, that were being used to build a house. On April 26, the below photo shows two used steel storage containers with a wooden, shed-like roof being built above them.
South Glastonbury illegal shipping container house on parcel SG-95B
On April 26, the GLA Board was sent a photo of the illegal construction taking place on parcel number SG 95-B. Over the next week the board was notified that storage containers were prohibited by the Covenants, Master Plan and 1999 board ruling. As of June 6, no action has been initiated and the illegal construction continues. The below photo shows construction as of May 15. Windows and doors have been installed. The old steel storage units were painted green.
This is what the landowners actually built.
The current construction does not look anything like what the GLA Project Review Committee and Board were presented with. The building consists of two or three rusty steel storage containers tacked together. A proper foundation or slab appears to be absent. Thus, the storage containers may be resting on bare ground and subject to shifting and more rusting. The second story was never built. A makeshift shed roof covers two of the containers, while the wing is still exposed. The garage door has yet to be installed. In short, this building does not resemble what was promised and agreed to by the landowners and approved by the GLA Board.