BOA minutes 081318 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Approved January 14, 2019 1 2 Karen Barrows invited questions from the board. 3 4 Randy Herman said he has a question to ask for both attorneys and invited Andy Petesch to answer first because he 5 was already standing. Randy Herman said it relates to the fact that we have on appeal a decision of the planning staff 6 which you have said was probably not correct at the time because at the time Southeast Property Group, LLC, and Wild 7 Flora Farm, LLC, were not the same entity, but because of the merger, Andy Petesch would now submit is correct 8 because the facts have changed, so is the board supposed to be reviewing the facts as they were presented to Michael 9 Harvey at the time or reviewing the facts as they exist today. 10 11 Andy Petesch answered that with respect to the first part of that and what was the status when SPG still was a record 12 owner of the property, he would submit that this is a brand new statute that has not been interpreted in the courts and 13 so the question about whether single member LLCs with unity of ownership satisfy the statute, that is still an open 14 question, 15 16 Randy Herman said that aside. 17 18 Andy Petesch said to get to the real part of your question, the issue is what was the question presented to Michael 19 Harvey and you assess that same question with the evidence before you. Because if we were just limited to the 20 evidence he had at the time he made the decision, we could have skipped a lot of this. But now you have additional 21 evidence, And Andy Petesch added that shortly after that merger was completed, he submitted a supplement to 22 Michael Harvey so that the current planning supervisor had that information with respect to the ownership of the 23 property by Wild Flora Farm vis-a-vis the merger. 24 25 Randy Herman said to LeAnn Brown let's assume hypothetically that the certificate was issued to Wild Flora Farm, LLC, 26 at the time that the property was owned by Southeast Property Group, LLC, but since then they have merged and are 27 the same entity. What effect does this have on the appeal if we assume that facts were incorrect at the time but they 28 are correct today? 29 30 LeAnn Brown said that she does not think the Board of Adjustment review power over a staff member is to take an 31 appeal that was filed in 2017, allow someone to do something in 2018 and say, 'Oh, never mind. We just didn't get to 32 you before the facts changed.'We are deciding based on what the facts were when Michael Harvey made the decision 33 in 2017. She also reminded the board that the profit-and-loss document is from 2016 when Wild Flora Farm, LLC, did 34 not exist. So, the argument that it is really Wild Flora Farm, LLC, cannot possibly be correct. It is her position that 35 whatever has happened subsequently, Kara Brewer would have to go back through the process and do this correctly. If 36 Kara Brewer went to the Department of Revenue, applied in the property entity, showed income in that entity's name for 37 the period that she needed it and brought that back to Grange County, perhaps there would be a different set of facts. 38 But you can't fix this for her. She didn't do this right. The county can't fix it for her and I don't think the Board of 39 Adjustment can either, LeAnn Brown said. 40 41 Barry Katz said so on September 21,2017, Kara Brewer filed an application that included the 2016 taxes? 42 I 43 LeAnn Brown answered it includes a profit-and-loss statement from 2016. 44 45 Barry Katz said and what she has here identifies herself as Kara Brewer with an LLC. But in fact in 2016 she was not 46 that entity, Is that what you are arguing? 47 48 LeAnn Brown said in 2016, Wild Flora Farm, LLC, did not exist, And it wasn't a DBA for Southeast Property Group, 49 LLC, because that assumed name was not filed until afterward,And no one is arguing that it is because that's not its tax