Sun, May 18 2008
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By Cristin Ross
cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com
Rusk City Council will meet in executive session at 5 p.m. Thursday to consider pending litigations.
Council members will consult with City Attorney Larry Sinclair in a closed meeting to discuss the case of the City of Rusk v. W.R. Bowden et.al.
Rusk council members decided to move forward with the lawsuit against former City Manager Kevin Bowden in November 2006, over what city officials view as violations of the city’s zoning statutes.
The dispute stems from the presence of multiple recreational vehicles parked on Bowden’s property. Bowden has said he feels their presence is in accordance with Rusk’s zoning guidelines; the city does not agree. The land in question is zoned R-1 and MH-1.
According to Murray, neither R-1 nor MH-1 zoning allow for recreational vehicles to be parked on them.
“I think it is a zoning violation,” Murray said in November 2006. “The council thinks it is a zoning violation. He just doesn’t believe it is a zoning violation. So we have come to the conclusion that we want to move forward with a lawsuit.”
Bowden claims there is no mention of recreational vehicles anywhere in the city’s zoning laws, either allowing or prohibiting their use.
“There is no mention of RVs in the zoning as we know it — no commercial, no residential, no mobile homes – none of it fits an RV,” he said in an earlier interview. “There is in no way, shape or form anything in the zoning that declares RVs as either permitted or not permitted. So how can they tell me it is not allowed?”
Council members will also take action on contemplated litigation or a settlement offer on Thursday in regard to Joanne Hart’s complaint concerning Goldcrest Drive; and Lesley Swift’s complaint concerning the city’s utilization of the easement along her property on County Road 2201 to service city sewer lines.
Rusk City Council members will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, in the council chambers at Rusk City Hall. 219 S. Main St., Rusk. The public is welcome.
Daily Progress reporter Kelly Young contributed to this article.
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