Colfax resident’s property use complaint highlights code enforcement struggles

Discussions between Colfax resident Robert Bell and the board of supervisors over codes and property rights got heated at the end of the open meeting on Dec. 17, 2023, resulting in an intense back-and-forth argument in which several Jasper County officials begged the man to work with staff to meet compliance.

For some time Bell says he has been hassled by the county over the vehicles, truck parts and tires he stores on his property, eventually leading him to consider building what he claimed was a 6,000-foot fence around his property to keep people out, prevent more county hasslin’ and hide the nuisances.

Currently, there are numerous vehicles — including semi-trailer trucks — being stored on more than 36 acres of land owned by Bell (made up of two adjacent lots spanning about 18 acres each), which can be seen from the nearby roads along West 76th Street South and South 44th Avenue West.

Jasper County’s GIS maps from 2017, 2019 and 2022 show the accumulation of stored vehicles has only grown over the years.

Newton News also observed the early construction of a tall fence bordering the property near the southwest corner of the lower lot, which is classified by zoning codes as “agriculture” and “ag dwelling.” In Jasper County, agricultural and rural residential properties are prohibited from being used as junkyards.

According to the county’s zoning code definitions, Bell’s property could meet the definitions of a “junkyard,” which is any lot where junk, used for second-hand materials are bought, sold, exchanged, stored, baled, packed, disassembled or handled. Junk is defined as any old, used, discarded or salvaged material.

However, Bell doesn’t see it that way, and he doesn’t believe the county should be able to tell him what he can and cannot do on his property

“I don’t want people telling me that I can’t,” he said at the meeting. “Because I earned that. I paid for that. And I think that you give me enough time we’ll get the fence done and people can’t keep driving by saying they don’t look like they want it to look like. It shouldn’t matter what people want. It’s my property.”

Supervisor Brandon Talsma prefaced his comments by saying the board could not make any action on Bell’s property since there was no item about it placed on the agenda. Talsma frequently told Bell to meet with the county’s community development director, Kevin Luetters, and come up with a game plan.

Bell was resistant to the idea. He also argued half of the ordinances the county enforces or upholds are unconstitutional, but Talsma defended the codes. No matter how much Talsma and fellow supervisor Denny Stevenson tried to convince him otherwise, Bell was adamant his rights were being violated.

“You’re taking my rights away from my property. That’s exactly how I feel. If you’re telling me what I can and can’t do, where did my rights go? I thought you fought for my freedom. But when you come back you take my freedom away,” Bell said in reference to Talsma’s past military service, which struck a nerve.

Talsma responded, “Don’t ever call into question my service again. Ever. I’ve known you a long time, Robert. Do not ever question my service again.”

“Well I’m not free no more!”

Stevenson tried reasoning with Bell, saying residents cannot do anything they wish on their properties.

“What if you wanted to make moonshine whiskey out there? Could you do that? Can you do that?” Stevenson asked.

“Well I wouldn’t tell nobody,” Bell said, which conjured some muted laughter in the room. “Sure, if I wanted to.”

“But if the authorities find out you’re going to be charged with that. That’s what I’m saying. There are limits to things you can do. This is one of them. This is the law. There are limits to what you can do. You have a lot rights. But you can’t do whatever you want on your property, just like I can’t.”

Stevenson said what anyone does on their property affects other properties. He wagered Bell could come up with a good deal if he really works with county staff.

But it is going to take cooperation on Bell’s part, Stevenson said.

Prior meetings between Bell and county officials had apparently not gone well. Talsma recalled one meeting where he and a community development worker waited for Bell for over an hour for him to show up, but he never did. Attempts were also made to establish a conditional use permit for Bell.

“The county is not going to sit back and approved a conditional use permit that goes against zoning ordinances when someone isn’t willing to play ball and work with us to begin with,” Talsma said. “That’s what all those other individuals had to do, too. We just approved another one the other day for what’s his name.”

It is a two-way street, Talsma added. Bell said it does not feel that way to him, especially after he had disposed of tires, “the stuff out front,” all but two campers and five trailer houses. Talsma said county staff need to know that, and he again encouraged him to develop a plan and timeline with community development.

“How are they supposed to know what progress you’ve made without allowing them on your property to inspect it, to check it, to verify the progress has been made?” Talsma asked.

Bell said. “I truly believe they don’t need to be on my property.”

“OK, well don’t get made then when they go on the assumption that zero progress has been made if you’re not letting them onto your property to verify progress has been made. They’re going to default to nothing’s been done. It’s going to be what can be seen from the road unless you let them on there.”

Bell also questioned how he could be expected to come up with a timeline with more than 30 years of materials and vehicles being stored on his property. Talsma said it is not his materials that are getting everybody all worked up; it is the 14 semi-trailers that showed up on his property in a span of three months.

“It was the 27 vehicles with Polk County plates that were all non-running that I saw when I was back there. Jasper County is not a dumping ground for other county’s crap,” Talsma said to Bell, who claimed those vehicles were being used for storage. “…Robert, please sit down with community development.”

At the meeting, another individual was sitting with Bell named Paul Bettin, who lives in Polk County and owns a business in Newton and has been storing vehicles on Bell’s land with his permission. Talsma questioned why Bettin would not store the vehicles in Polk County. Bettin said it is because of his business.

“So? Your business isn’t in Colfax. Your business is in Newton,” Talsma said.

Bettin responded, “Because I get charged $15 a vehicle out there for outside storage … I can’t store it at my house in town. It’s not big enough.”

Talsma said that is a result of ordinances and regulations in Polk County. Similarly, Jasper County has its limits, too. But Bell argued the county is trying to take away Bettin’s business, but supervisors denied that accusation. Talsma said he wants Bell to work with staff so it does not run amuck.

“And 20 years from now there’s not another 50-acre junkyard in Jasper County,” Talsma said, though Bell protested he was not going to let that happen. “…Every single person that’s got a junkyard says that it’s not going to happen. Then 30 or 40 years down the road that’s exactly what we have.”

Which is also why ordinances that have been on the books for decades that were not getting enforced are now getting enforced, Talsma added.

“We’re saying there are rules that have to be followed and we’re wanting to work with you to come in compliance with those rules,” he said. “…I really wish you’d sit down with community development and understand it’s a two-way street. It’s a two-way street and neither one is going to get 100 percent what they want.”

Bell was not wholly convinced, even with Bettin’s insistence.

“I’ll tell you what: We’ll see what happens,” Bell said.

By the end of the supervisors work session, Bell conceded he would work with the county on meeting compliance with codes, much to the delight of supervisors.

Other property owners with nuisance violations have gone through the same process of meeting with Luetters to determine a plan, Talsma said. In a follow-up interview with Luetters, he estimated roughly 40 percent of all residents who meet with him the first time face-to-face comply to clean up their properties.

“We get good compliance with just two humans talking,” Luetters said, noting another 40 percent come to compliance after going to court. “…The judge will talk to them and then they take it serious. Then you got 20 percent who just have to go the whole process.”

For the past few years, the county has tried to remedy its lax enforcement of zoning ordinances that have been in place for years. Luetters has been tasked with cracking down on nuisances that make the county unappealing and unsightly, which can ultimately have an effect on the county’s growth.

Developers in particular may not want to build in Jasper County if there are “junky” properties. Luetters said staff had addressed problem properties in the past, but community development was never as proactive as it has been these past years. In 2023, about 30 properties had begun working with the county.

If property owners refuse the county’s demands and the judge’s demands, then Jasper County will hire a contractor to clean up a property and bring it up to code. Luetters said there were two properties that needed hired work this past year. But they were not to the scale of Bell’s property.

“It was more for trash and debris. That’s why I’ve been trying to work with him, because that’s not the case here. Well, a little bit. But there is a lot of value out there with the semi-trailers, diesel engines,” Luetters said, noting a contractor would likely take Bell’s materials to a salvage yard. “…I don’t want to do that.”

There is a balance Luetters is trying to meet. He doesn’t want to stop Bell from doing something he is passionate about and makes him money. But there are laws to abide by, too. Luetters said one of the overall goals of enforcing zoning codes is deterrence. The rules haven’t changed, but no one enforced them.

“So people have gotten complacent a bit,” he said. “We’re just trying to get back on top of a few things. Most people are cooperative … But it’s like if I let my daughter get away with something 20 times and tell her no on the 21st time, that’s going to be a big battle.”