POLAND Variance request for truck dropped

A Monday appeals board meeting has been canceled.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- A parking issue that had driven a hefty wedge between neighbors in one village neighborhood has been taken off the table before village officials could finish sorting it out.
Long-distance truck driver Alfred Massie and his wife, Sandra Mikkelsen, had appealed to the village zoning appeals board for a variance allowing them to park their semi truck -- minus the trailer -- at their home.
A second appeals board meeting set for Monday has been canceled because the couple have dropped their request for a variance.
Does not apply
Mikkelsen said the request was dropped because the zoning ordinance, as written, does not apply to her situation. The regulation states "trucks in excess of three-quarter ton capacity shall not be parked on the premises."
Mikkelsen said "capacity" implies the vehicle's ability to hold a certain amount of material. Since the trailer will not be parked with the truck, the ordinance does not apply, she said.
Mikkelsen did not say what she and her husband planned to do with the truck, but said she is concerned for those living close to her.
"We want to be good neighbors, and everyone around us supports us. The people complaining live a block away," she said.
During the first appeals board hearing, James Jones, Massie and Mikkelsen's lawyer, said the variance should be granted because not being allowed to park the truck at the property causes a hardship for Massie.
Attendance
Many neighbors attended the hearing -- some in support of the couple and others opposed.
Massie and his wife, 16-year residents of the village, recently moved to the Water Street neighborhood, where they were told it is against the village zoning code to park a vehicle over three-quarter tons in a residential area. Mikkelsen said the truck was kept in the driveway of the couple's last home in a different section of the village without complaint.
Mikkelsen said the couple, since moving into the house, have spent a lot of money on a new driveway that can support the truck's weight. She said the driveway also allows the truck to be pulled to the rear of the house out of sight of neighbors and passing cars.
jgoodwin@vindy.com