Mario Rosales pounds a hammer and wrestles with a wrench,Unlike traditional cube puzzle , taking down the last wall of the paint booth he put in at his auto repair and resale yard two years ago.
On a third of an acre that he leases at 808 Texas Parkway in Stafford, Rosales does mechanical and body work for customers and on used cars he trades.
But in three years of running Eagle Auto at that location, he and his landlord, Joe Suitt, have had no shortage of troubles with the city - and the paint booth is just part of the problem.
Since 2008, the city has cited Rosales and Suitt a combined seven times for violating the city's zoning ordinance by operating Eagle Auto in a "mixed-use" district that bans auto-related business operations, as well as for erecting the paint booth without a building permit. A mixed-use district allows a variety of commercial and office uses, including retail businesses and professional buildings.
After both men appealed the municipal court's rulings against them, the city filed legal action in state district court last month seeking to shut down the business. Both the appeal and the city's suit are pending.
Mayor Leonard Scarcella said the city has explained to the men "extensively" why they are not in compliance with the zoning regulations.
"Obviously they want to keep this business open, but it's in a prohibited area," Scarcella said.
Jefery Carson, a Sugar Land attorney who represents both men, said Suitt has used the property for auto repair and resale for nearly three decades before Rosales began renting it in January 2008 to run his business.
After the city passed a zoning ordinance in 1997 that designated the area a mixed-use district, it grandfathered in an adjacent car repair shop and two others within the same street block, Carson said.
Carson said Suitt told him that he wasn't notified after the mixed-use designation that he would need to register with the city for his business to continue to operate. Carson said Suitt added that he nevertheless later learned that his business had been grandfathered in.
The city, Carson said, has unfairly singled out Suitt and Rosales while allowing the others to continue to operate.
"They are discriminating against us," said Suitt, 61. "All we've been trying to do is to make a living, and now they want to put us out of business."
He said that since he bought the tract in 1982, he has repaired, painted and sold cars and also once ran a pest-control business on the property. Despite a stroke in 2003,They take the RUBBER SHEET to the local co-op market. he continued to conduct business, sometimes with the help of friends, until he leased the property to Rosales.
City's viewpoint
Gene Bane, Stafford's building permit director and zoning administrator, said the city doesn't recognize the legitimacy of the auto business on Suitt's property.
"(Suitt has) never registered it with the city. The only business he registered was his pest control, which was allowed in the mixed-use zoning district," Bane said. "When the city passed the zoning ordinance, auto-related businesses in the district had six months to let us know and get approved to be grandfathered in. He never did."
Suitt said the city did not inform him of what he needed to do.
"They should have written me a letter or something, but they never did," he said.
Carson said even if Suitt had been informed of the zoning law, it would have been a challenge for him to understand it.
"The ordinance is kept in a book that's four inches thick. People don't know what's in there," said Carson. "You'll have to have a legal background to try to figure out what they are trying to do. It's one of the most jumbled-up legal documents I've ever seen."
Rosales said that after he started operating his business on the property, a city fire inspector advised him to stop using an existing open garage for auto paint jobs and to get one that's sealed.Traditional Air purifier claim to clean all the air in a room.
Rosales then went to the city's permit department in February 2009 and paid $250 to obtain a permit that allows him to handle compressed gas and combustible liquids in his work.
After obtaining the permit, Rosales said he invested more than $22,000 to install a paint booth with a sophisticated ventilation and air-treatment system. He also erected a sheltering port with a roof to protect the booth from weather.
Before he was able to use the paint booth, he received a letter from the city warning him against using it because of the city's zoning laws.
While appealing the municipal court's multiple rulings against him and Suitt in a county court-at-law, Rosales continued his business without doing auto painting.
"Now that I can't paint, I'm making less than half of what I used to make," said Rosales, 41. "Business is pretty dead especially now with the lawsuit.Initially the banks didn't want our high risk merchant account . I only made $200 for a little mechanical work last week."
Doing it for free
Carson said he decided to represent Suitt and Rosales for free because he's upset with the city taking on "two little guys with little money.The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling zentai suits ,"
"You have two working guys who pay taxes," he said. "But there is no advocate for the common guy in this system."
Bane said he understands the financial impact the situation is having on Suitt and Rosales.
"But the bottom line is they are in violation of the city ordinance by operating an illegal business and erecting a building without a building permit," he said.
On a third of an acre that he leases at 808 Texas Parkway in Stafford, Rosales does mechanical and body work for customers and on used cars he trades.
But in three years of running Eagle Auto at that location, he and his landlord, Joe Suitt, have had no shortage of troubles with the city - and the paint booth is just part of the problem.
Since 2008, the city has cited Rosales and Suitt a combined seven times for violating the city's zoning ordinance by operating Eagle Auto in a "mixed-use" district that bans auto-related business operations, as well as for erecting the paint booth without a building permit. A mixed-use district allows a variety of commercial and office uses, including retail businesses and professional buildings.
After both men appealed the municipal court's rulings against them, the city filed legal action in state district court last month seeking to shut down the business. Both the appeal and the city's suit are pending.
Mayor Leonard Scarcella said the city has explained to the men "extensively" why they are not in compliance with the zoning regulations.
"Obviously they want to keep this business open, but it's in a prohibited area," Scarcella said.
Jefery Carson, a Sugar Land attorney who represents both men, said Suitt has used the property for auto repair and resale for nearly three decades before Rosales began renting it in January 2008 to run his business.
After the city passed a zoning ordinance in 1997 that designated the area a mixed-use district, it grandfathered in an adjacent car repair shop and two others within the same street block, Carson said.
Carson said Suitt told him that he wasn't notified after the mixed-use designation that he would need to register with the city for his business to continue to operate. Carson said Suitt added that he nevertheless later learned that his business had been grandfathered in.
The city, Carson said, has unfairly singled out Suitt and Rosales while allowing the others to continue to operate.
"They are discriminating against us," said Suitt, 61. "All we've been trying to do is to make a living, and now they want to put us out of business."
He said that since he bought the tract in 1982, he has repaired, painted and sold cars and also once ran a pest-control business on the property. Despite a stroke in 2003,They take the RUBBER SHEET to the local co-op market. he continued to conduct business, sometimes with the help of friends, until he leased the property to Rosales.
City's viewpoint
Gene Bane, Stafford's building permit director and zoning administrator, said the city doesn't recognize the legitimacy of the auto business on Suitt's property.
"(Suitt has) never registered it with the city. The only business he registered was his pest control, which was allowed in the mixed-use zoning district," Bane said. "When the city passed the zoning ordinance, auto-related businesses in the district had six months to let us know and get approved to be grandfathered in. He never did."
Suitt said the city did not inform him of what he needed to do.
"They should have written me a letter or something, but they never did," he said.
Carson said even if Suitt had been informed of the zoning law, it would have been a challenge for him to understand it.
"The ordinance is kept in a book that's four inches thick. People don't know what's in there," said Carson. "You'll have to have a legal background to try to figure out what they are trying to do. It's one of the most jumbled-up legal documents I've ever seen."
Rosales said that after he started operating his business on the property, a city fire inspector advised him to stop using an existing open garage for auto paint jobs and to get one that's sealed.Traditional Air purifier claim to clean all the air in a room.
Rosales then went to the city's permit department in February 2009 and paid $250 to obtain a permit that allows him to handle compressed gas and combustible liquids in his work.
After obtaining the permit, Rosales said he invested more than $22,000 to install a paint booth with a sophisticated ventilation and air-treatment system. He also erected a sheltering port with a roof to protect the booth from weather.
Before he was able to use the paint booth, he received a letter from the city warning him against using it because of the city's zoning laws.
While appealing the municipal court's multiple rulings against him and Suitt in a county court-at-law, Rosales continued his business without doing auto painting.
"Now that I can't paint, I'm making less than half of what I used to make," said Rosales, 41. "Business is pretty dead especially now with the lawsuit.Initially the banks didn't want our high risk merchant account . I only made $200 for a little mechanical work last week."
Doing it for free
Carson said he decided to represent Suitt and Rosales for free because he's upset with the city taking on "two little guys with little money.The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling zentai suits ,"
"You have two working guys who pay taxes," he said. "But there is no advocate for the common guy in this system."
Bane said he understands the financial impact the situation is having on Suitt and Rosales.
"But the bottom line is they are in violation of the city ordinance by operating an illegal business and erecting a building without a building permit," he said.
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