Saga Over Illegally-Parked Home Drags On In Loveland
LOVELAND, Colo. (CBS4) - A Loveland woman has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get a half-built house and the truck it's sitting on off of her property.
The house has been parked in front of Mountain View Farm since Labor Day weekend. There may have initially been agreement to have it there temporarily, but the owner now wants it gone, and the dispute has now grown into a legal fight.
"We hear excuses. We've been living with excuses," said Loveland Mayor Pro Tem Don Overcash.
Overcash said the city has been trying to work with Dejohn House Moving for years. Its owner Gary Dejohn has illegally parked the same house on private property before, and even served time in jail for trespassing.
"When he got out, he was told he's got to move that house. Well, he moved it, but he moved it two blocks away," Overcash said.
The house eventually wound up at Mountain View, located at 6875 County Road 9 A. Dejohn told CBS4 by phone on Wednesday that he got permission from the property owner to leave the house there for a few days because he "did not have a destination for the building."
A week later, Mountain View Farms was warned by Larimer County that they were in violation of building codes and could be fined.
"People ask 'Why don't you just torch it?' ... Well, it's got asbestos in it. So now we're dealing with some state issues," Overcash said.
The city and county are now working with the farm's owner, who filed the suit last fall. She declined an interview with CBS4 this week.
"We want it gone and we don't want it back in Loveland," Overcash said.
Overcash told CBS4 he's going through an approval process to get the home moved to a lot in Severance. He also claims some power poles are in the way and he needs the city to move them before that can happen.
