Failure to Comply with Village Comes Back to Bite Business Owner

Clark Gas Station owner Khalid Ahmed’s request to extend the hours of operation at his business to 24 hours was given the death blow Village Board Monday after he failed to install mandatory modifications to his property.

When the village approved Ahmed’s permit to renovate his business at N56W15654 Silver Spring Dr. in 2007, it came with a number of requirements that needed to be fulfilled. However, Ahmed failed to fulfill the following requirements:

• Construct a Dumpster enclosure with stone corners and a masonry cap;
• Install a bike rack; and
• Incorporate landscaping at the base of his signs.

In May, the Plan Commission recommended the board deny his request to extend his hours of operation for failing to comply with the requirements. The Village Board tabled his request at their meeting in June to allow him time to meet the requirements.

But on Monday, Ahmed had still failed to fulfill the requirements, and his request was shot down.

“That was the main issue. If he hadn’t fulfilled his current conditions, why would we give him another use on that (property) if he hadn’t done that?” asked Village President Randy Newman.

Ahmed’s request now disappears from the books, and he will need to pay a $1,000 fee if he plans to propose extending his business hours to 24 hours in the future. Trustee Michael McDonald said the $1,000 fee he originally paid for his current request must not have been too significant.

“Apparently it didn’t mean that much to him because he didn’t go ahead and put things in we told him to do – which weren’t that drastic,” McDonald said. “And not only that, they should have been done from the start. He’s basically thumbing his nose at what he said he would do.”

Although Ahmed’s 24-hour request failed, he will still need to fulfill the three requirements from the village he has yet to complete.

“He’s going to have to comply with these no matter what,” said Community Development Director Matt Carran. “It basically comes down to planting day lilies around the sign, installing a bike rack, and putting a concrete cap over the top of the dumpster enclosure.”

Carran said he would work with Ahmed to fix up the Dumpster enclosure to fulfill the requirements of the village.

Ahmed was not at Monday's meeting, but Carran said he had told the village that he talked to a contractor about doing the Dumpster work but the contractor didn't follow through.

Ahmed also told the village that he had purchased a bicycle rack, but there was no sign of it at the gas station, Carran said.

Other news from the board

The Village Board approved an ordinance allowing a 30-unit, four-story apartment building to be constructed along Appleton Avenue between Fire Station #1 and Dayspring Therapeutic Massage and Health Concepts. Developer Bill Bode .

The board also gave the final approval to Menomonee Falls Elderly to construct . The board removed a requirement to install brick belting on the buildings. They also removed a requirement to rework the roof, which would have delayed construction and add to costs.