City attorney told of Liberty St. non-compliance
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By Kipp Hanley
Published: May 28, 2008
Building and zoning violations have pushed the city of Manassas into the legal arena.
Manassas Building Official Brian Smith confirmed Wednesday that 9500 Liberty St. owners Delia Alvarez and Gaudencio Fernandez failed to meet a deadline listed on a May 15 letter to get a demolition permit for their political sign.
Smith said he and zoning administrator Lorena Payne have informed the city attorney's firm, Smith and Davenport, of the non-compliance. Smith said the goal is compliance, not fines. In eight years with the city, Smith said he has sent four court summons regarding building issues, but has never been to court.
Fernandez confirmed on May 23 that he received the letter from the city and that he wouldn't likely apply for a demolition permit until the following month because of work obligations.
Fernandez obtained a six-month demolition permit on April 12, 2007, which has since expired, Smith said. Fernandez started the work in September but left the wall standing with political messages criticizing Prince William County's resolution targeting illegal immigrants.
Fernandez said he plans on applying for the special use permit in June and has no intention of bringing down the wall before a more permanent structure is approved by council and funding is identified by the community.
"They can bring me to court, they can punish me any way they want but I am not going to remove the wall, that is not my intention," Fernandez said.
On top of the building code violation, the May 15 letter mentions a zoning ordinance violation for trash and debris.
A re-inspection was done in December and this week and there is still a violation.
Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-369-5738.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( Calisto ) on June 02, 2008 at 10:51 am
phdee
What you gonna do when they come for you?
You sound just like on of these illegal immigrants.
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on May 30, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Equality, I’m going to hold out for a ‘correction’ by cobra. Oh, he does get confused about which neighborhood he lives in from time to time but he has always posted that he is so Pro Legal that by golly, he’s even concerned about THEIR rights and THEIR loss of opportunity due to the illegal population. You wait, you just wait and see him post a correction… ha ha ha. This is where anger management classes would come into play for both cobra and zcx. They get so riled up they forget their stories. I too keep many of their postings so I can refer back to them. I just stay amazed that for those that illegal immigration is a real issue, they show no signs of a willingness to actually solve the problem. zcx really seems to believe that without sealing the border, the US is going to buy first class airline tickets for those here and send them home. I can’t do the math but 12 million people times $1,000 per ticket and soon you’re talking real money. And with 97% of border crossings successful, we’ll need another batch of money in a few years to send another 12 million home! All this because Webster left the word “compromise” out of their dictionary. Well, no immigrants living in my neighborhood .....
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Posted by ( Calisto ) on May 30, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Posted by ( phdee ) on May 30, 2008 at 11:39 am
Calisto:
“I love to smoke my corncob pipe, but I’ve chewed tobacco all my life.
Thew tobacco, chew tobacco, chew tobacco rag, Just get a big plug and bite off the end, and let it run down and off your chin.
Just save it, child!!! Is that all you’ve got? Which class are you attending???? Does your special ed school accept donations???
First of all: You don’t know me - so, don’t make this personal. I am not an American citizen - so, your endearments are out of line. Furthermore, even Jesus said “Forgive them father - for they don’t know what they do!“ Never fit better as in your case.
Well, I’ll forgive you - after all someone who hasn’t been taught manners - what can I expect?????
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Posted by ( bigwillys ) on May 30, 2008 at 1:01 pm
If you break the law, pay the toll….dosn’t matter who you are…if you make a mess, clean it up. If you are illegal, get legal…what is so hard to understand about this?
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Posted by ( Equality 7-2521 ) on May 30, 2008 at 12:32 pm
Ray,
Don’t hold your breathe. Cobra has made his disdain for Hispanics well-known.
And his feelings concerning Hispanic legal immigrants are probably in line with how he feels about workers who come here legally. Consider his own words: “I am all for guest workers but to be honest with you; I would rather get them from countries other then Mexico, El Salvador or many of the other countries in the Southern Hemisphere.“
The guy’s a real piece of work: pretending to be outraged about being called a racist, and then turning around and making other nasty comments about Hispanics.
Cobra,
If you don’t like Hispanics, then just say so. But don’t pretend this is about the “rule of law” for you. That’s potentially believable coming from many of the other people on this board, but not you.
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Posted by ( phdee ) on May 30, 2008 at 10:39 am
Calisto:
“I love to smoke my corncob pipe, but I’ve chewed tobacco all my life.
Thew tobacco, chew tobacco, chew tobacco rag, Just get a big plug and bite off the end, and let it run down and off your chin. Chew tobacco, chew tobacco, chew tobacco rag.“—- country song of Manassas/PWC rednecks and good old boys white trash.
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Posted by ( Calisto ) on May 30, 2008 at 8:38 am
Posted by ( phdee ) on May 29, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Just cause: if the sign is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of some locals, then why not try spitting rather than spewing hate?
Don’t need to spit - just waiting for the judgment and money fine! LOL! That should take care of it.
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on May 29, 2008 at 6:25 pm
While the sign is there to inspire hope in some, perhaps the wording does upset others. I wonder if the process would have dragged on this long if Mr. F. was not otherwise diverted by having to secure his property from arsonists that have no respect for our laws? I hope the City police continue to track down those villains and appeal to the community for assistance in their capture. $10,000 in Crime Solver Rewards would not be too much to pay to apprehend these felons.
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Posted by ( raywilliams ) on May 29, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Equality, I was preparing to craft my own statement to question cobra’s poor choice of wording but you nailed it first. Since cobra has stated many times in the past he is Pro Legal Immigrant, I’m sure he posted quickly and didn’t take time to review his comments. Not to worry. Plenty of space on this blog for his corrected version.
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Posted by ( phdee ) on May 29, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Just cause: if the sign is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of some locals, then why not try spitting rather than spewing hate?
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