(Okoboji)– A victory for the city of Okoboji in it’s latest legal dispute with businessman Butch Parks.
The latest litigation involved “The Fish House”, an establishment owned by Parks that’s moored near Okoboji Boats on Smith’s Bay of West Lake Okoboji. The city took Parks to district court over the matter, claiming the “Fish House” represented an improper expansion of a non-conforming special use permit for Okoboji Boats and an adjoining parcel of property referred to as The Cove.
The city cited numerous complaints from neighbors regarding the operations of the “Fish House”, including parking, rowdy behavior, noise, and so on.
In his ruling, District Judge Patrick Carr states “the present use of the property is an improper, and thus illegal, expansion of the prior non-conforming use”, when considered under the city’s zoning ordinance.
Carr goes on to state in his ruling that “the court concludes that the use of the Okoboji Boat Works property to provide parking for patrons seeking to access the Fish House Lounge, providing a means of ingress and egress to and from the Fish House Lounge, and providing bathroom facilities to such patrons, all violate the zoning ordinance of the city of Okoboji.”
The city also sought a ruling regarding the Clucker’s Chicken operation on the site. A previous ruling in a case in 2004 regarding that same issue went against the city. The city appealed, but did not challenge on appeal the ruling about the use of the property for Cluckers Chicken. As a result, Carr states in his ruling that the issue surrounding Cluckers Chicken had already been decided and cannot be brought before the court.
Carr also ruled against the city’s request for an injunction prohibiting Parks from using some nearby rental properties he owns for parking, claiming it’s a commercial use. Carr states in his ruling that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to point out that the majority of the vehicles that were parking on those properties were actually patrons of the Fish House, and that there’s nothing in the city’s ordinances that prohibits permissive parking in yards.
