McIlvaine seeks extension stemming from 1975 project
A St. Charles homeowner who pulled a permit in 1975 for a home addition was back in court Thursday, promising to remove construction materials from his land by Monday.
The extension requested by Cliff McIlvaine is the latest delay since a settlement was reached in April for him to wrap up work and erect a storage facility outside his home on the 600 block of Prairie Street.
McIlvaine and his attorney said he's doing his best to comply with city regulations; city officials disagree.
"Again, Mr. McIlvaine is showing no urgency to complete anything, just like the original addition (in 1975) and throughout this process," Phil Luetkehans, an attorney for the city, said after a brief court hearing. "He's got metal out there, he's got wood out there. He calls it construction material. We call it debris - or junk."
McIlvaine said the only item he needs to remove by Monday is a 16-foot long wood beam.
He originally was supposed to have his site free of construction materials and debris by July 31.
McIlvaine also was granted an extension in June for a boom truck on his land. It was removed by July 15.
The city sued McIlvaine in late 2010, saying he had not let inspectors on his property since 1975, when the permit was first issued.
The two sides reached an agreement to have McIlvaine finish the project by September 2012, but McIlvaine missed numerous deadlines and refused to connect to the city water supply, a move that landed him in jail for two weeks for contempt of court.
A judge in May 2013 gave the city permission to finish some aspects of the project, such as installing a new roof, erecting a staircase on the building's west side and other matters.
McIlvaine recently filed a lawsuit against the city seeking damages, claiming a custom-made, super-insulated fiberglass material was removed from the roof and a conventional asphalt shingle roof installed.
The city wants that suit dismissed; the two sides are due in court Aug. 19, where Judge David Akemann also will review whether McIlvaine complied with terms of the latest extension.
McIlvaine attorney Phil Piscopo argued the May 2013 order only allowed the city to correct hazardous conditions and not replace the roof.
McIlvaine also said he plans to submit in "the next few days" a set of plans to erect a 35-foot by 72-foot storage facility on his land to enclose construction materials and vehicles.
The first set of plans was rejected by the city, which wants a professional engineer to sign off on it. If these new plans are approved soon, McIlvaine said he hopes materials will be delivered by October and he can assemble it by November.
"He's been cooperating with the city," Piscopo said. "The city's putting additional demands on him. He's doing the best he can under the circumstances."