A district judge granted a temporary stay on the demolition of the St. Cloud buildings on Dec. 1, conditional on the plaintiff posting a supersedeas bond of $300,000 or a ruling by the appellate court on the matter by Dec. 16.
“Because of the situation that’s going on with this building, there’s more than just the City itself. There’s also the consideration of neighboring parties, the general public at large, and for that reason it seems to me that what is proper in this case is that a supersedeas bond is issued, undertaken by Mr. (John) Givens, the plaintiff,” said District Judge Joseph Dobry.
He added that if a bond isn’t posted by that time and in the absence of an order from the appellate court, then to “seek relief elsewhere, see if somebody else is interested.”
The bond is intended to protect against changes in circumstance before a final judgment is issued and to protect against things such as divesting assets or any intervening circumstances that might pass the cost from the party obligated to pay, Dobry said.
In the hearing, the attorney for the plaintiff, Lloyd Palmer, argued that Givens made attempts to repair the buildings, but was blocked by “discriminatory” actions on the City of Chandler’s part. Namely, when he did apply for permits to do the work, they were denied. The argument was also made that some of the work didn’t require a permit as it wasn’t altering the buildings from their original states.
The City denied any discrimination, with Code Enforcement Officer Scott Wintz saying he maintained neutrality in issuing citations and denying permits. He stated that the permits were denied because they weren’t completed correctly and he included a list of necessary changes in order for them to be approved. He also said that the work done to the building was considered alterations, and therefore needed a permit. Any building that is being built, moved, expanded or altered within city limits must have a permit to do so according to city ordinances, he said.
This was the third hearing on the buildings. The last was held on June 25, after which Dobry denied a temporary injunction and allowed a restraining order against the City of Chandler to dissolve. AT that time, he ruled that it was unlikely that the plaintiff would be able to make the necessary repairs to the buildings in order for them to be safe.
Givens appealed the ruling in August.