BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
A consent agreement is pending regarding the corner of Main Street and Waldon Road.
“I’ve been vilified about exercising my rights as property owner,” said Ed Adler, one of the property owners, at the June 13 Clarkston City Council meeting. “It’s essentially admitting I haven’t done anything wrong.”
Adler said he was concerned about the refusal of Clarkston Historic District Commission Chair Cara Catallo to sign the agreement.
The agreement has signature lines for Deanna Olsen, who owns the property along with Adler, Mayor Joe Luginski, and Catallo.
Catallo wouldn’t say why she didn’t sign, but said Commission member Dave Bihl signed the agreement.
“We’re all equal on the Historic District Commission,” she said at the meeting.
“That wasn’t our agreement,” Adler responded. “We’re not going to accept it unless it’s what we agreed on.”
The agreement removes the stop-work orders issued by the city in April 2015, and requires the property owners to grade the property, clean rubbish, debris, branches, wood chips, garbage, and vegetation, and plant, mow, and maintain grass, as well as nine redbud trees at the owner’s expense.
Under the agreement, neither admits liability or fault, and both pay their own costs, expenses and attorney fees
Adler said his company has paid $15,000 in legal fees.
City Manager Carol Eberhardt said the city’s attorney costs for Waldon and Main have been $3,100 so far.
The property owners received a letter from the city in 2014 requiring the lot be cleaned up. The owners responded by clearing all trees and shrubs from the corner, which was zoned residential.
In the story “Rumors surround corner lot,” April 9, 2015, Catallo said the clearing of the trees should have gone through the HDC to maintain the appearance of downtown.
City officials said the owners had permits from the Department of Natural Resources to remove the trees.