Court upholds Board’s decision for school use

After three years court ruling is final, but school district has moved on

The City of Clear Lake’s Board of Adjustment acted properly in granting a conditional use permit to locate a counseling service for youth in the former Sunset School building.  That was the ruling of the Iowa Court of Appeals last week.

The ruling put an end to a nearly three-year battle about future uses for the school building.

Kristen and Daniel Ollenberg, 209 Mars Hill Dr., filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in November 2010, alleging the zoning Board of Adjustment acted illegally in granting a Conditional Use Permit to Life-Line, LLC to operate a family and individual counseling service in the former Sunset School building at 408 Mars Hill Dr.  

The city’s Board of Adjustment gave unanimous approval in late October 2010 to Life-Line’s request for a conditional use permit.  Life-Line had offered to purchase the vacant school building for $200,000 from the Clear Lake School District in 2010, but sale of the building was put on hold pending necessary approvals.

In September 2011 a hearing was held in district court concerning the case and in May 2012, Cerro Gordo County District Court Judge Christopher Foy upheld the Board of Adjustment’s unanimous decision to grant a conditional use permit to Life-Line.  

Days before the District Court ruling on the matter, Life-Line LLC withdrew its offer to purchase the school building, saying that after two years it needed to look in a different direction.

Despite Life-Line’s withdrawal of its offer to purchase Sunset, the Ollenburgs decided to continue the fight and took the issue to the Iowa Supreme Court.  On May 18, 2012, they  filed a motion challenging the District Court’s decision to uphold the conditional use permit granted by the Clear Lake Zoning Board of Adjustment to Life-Line, LLC.

In its ruling issued last week, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled the district court provided a detailed summary of the evidence and - Read More Via e-Editioin