Councilor Luce issued citation for violation of city code

Shakopee Valley News

Shakopee City Councilor Mike Luce has a court date after being found in violation of multiple sections of City Code.

City staff emailed Luce on May 10 to inform him of the violations, including inoperable and unlicensed vehicles on his property, exterior storage in the form of chairs “piled in bushes,” parking issues and a fence in need of repair, according to the code violation warning.

Luce said the timing of the citation was suspicious, because it came soon after he was censured by the Shakopee City Council on May 3 in a 4-0 vote.

“Those exact same citations were there last year and I never heard a word about it,” Luce said. “Now this year, all of a sudden after I’m censured, they decide that I’ve fallen out of favor and decided to do something about it.”

Police Chief Jeff Tate said his department had not received complaints about Luce’s property for several years previous to the complaint this year, which was filed by a community service officer after the office noticed the issues while delivering council materials to Luce.

Luce requested an extension on May 21 to get in compliance.

“It’s fairly common for a person to ask for an extension because they only give you seven to 10 days, which if you’ve actually got a job, it’s a little tricky to get it all taken care of,” Luce said.

City Administrator Bill Reynolds granted an extension of three weeks. On June 12, Luce requested another extension. Reynolds granted another week-long extension.

“Inspection of your premises does see some noticeable improvements... However, issues remain,” Reynolds wrote in an email to Luce. Remaining issues included weeds, a ladder being stored on top of a van, expired tags on a vehicle and buckets in Luce’s yard.

On June 23, Police Chief Jeff Tate emailed Luce to let him know a ticket was in the mail for the code violation.

“I can assure you that you are being treated the same way any other citizen would for a similar violation,” Tate said in the email.

Luce said Tate violated the terms of his censure by contacting him, but Reynolds clarified that Tate had Reynolds’ permission.

Luce said another extension to avoid paying for tabs two times for the vehicle on his property would have been granted for any other council member.

“I have one issue outstanding and that is the tabs on the vehicle,” Luce said.

Luce said his lawyer advised him that as long as the tabs were up-to-date by the time a court date would be held, the situation should be resolved.

“All they’re looking for is compliance — supposedly,” Luce said. “Some cases, they’re looking just to be a pain in the (behind). I believe that’s what they’re trying to do to me.”

City code violations are common, Luce said.

“If you go around and check out other staff members and other council members you’ll find other violations,” Luce said. “They’re very easy to have, it’s not like it’s a big deal.”

Luce said he has not yet called to find out the court date.