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| The Brothers Klen Lawsuit highlights inequities in Loveland's development process and accuses staff of retaliatory actions to suppress free speech by developers about officials |
Loveland - December 16, 2008
the City Manager. That is without having corrected the known deficiency.
the City Manager. That is without having corrected the known deficiency.
According to one former city official, "After Don Williams became the City of Loveland's City Manager, it became
commonplace and accepted for builders to begin building before they were issued building permits..." Another described the
city's building department as something akin to a "college fraternity" where member developers with beer get what they want
but outsiders are subject to hazing while trying to comply with sophomoric rules enforced in a capricious and arbitrary manner
by an incompetent staff.
Loveland's former senior building inspector, James Cook, who is now a building inspector for the State of Colorado explained
it this way in an affidavit filed in District Court,
"The permissive approach to building permits was part of City of Loveland's policies.....depended on whether the
builder was part of an insider group which included members of the Construction Advisory Board and the City
Council"
Similar to a few notoriously out of control fraternities at CSU, Loveland's development services fraternity may also be in
trouble. Not for any alcohol related deaths but instead because one developer is claiming to have been violated. Two
brothers and their company are seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the City of Loveland for "deliberate
violations" of the Klen's civil rights. Apparently, the Klens fell out of favor and their project fell victim to new rules,
bureaucratic delays, newly created procedures and even criminal prosecution fueled by what appears to be perjury.
The Klens are now suing the City of Loveland in District Court along with senior members of city staff (see blue box on the
right for a list of names). The City of Loveland and staff stand accused of violating their rights to equal protection under the
law and for using their governmental regulatory authority in a retaliatory fashion when the Klens attempted to exercise their first
amendment rights to complain.
What makes the lawsuit and their amended complaint so fascinating is that Ed Klen, one of the two brothers, is hardly an
outsider to the privileged group referenced above by the former city inspector. In 1999 Ed Klen was appointed to the city's
Construction Advisory Board where he served until 2005. While Klen's attorney is reluctant to assign any singular motive to
the city for allegedly persecuting his client during the past four years, a number of facts have emerged in the case that could be
the geneses of staff's animosity towards the Klen brothers and their company Diverse Construction.
The Klen brothers built a 69,000 square foot commercial project in east Loveland near Wal-Mart named the Anasazi Park
beginning in 2000. After they completed the project in 2003, the brothers began work on an adjacent project (referred to as
Phase II) to build an additional 49,000 square foot building. In 2004 they began to run into problems with the City of
Loveland.
Complaint of "intoxicated in his official capacity"
Loveland City Inspector, Richard Hoskinson, is among the city staffers who appear to have a bitter dispute with the Klens.
One reason may be the fact Hoskinson was barred from the Klen brother's construction site during phase 1 of their Anasazi
Park project, according to the Klen's complaint, after Hoskinson "arrived intoxicated in his official capacity" onto their
property. As evidence of the problem, Exhibit 11 of their lawsuit includes Larimer County court records of DUI charges
against Hoskinson dating between 1999 and 2005.
In March of 2005 the Klens met with City Manager Don Williams in an attempt to improve relations with staff and get support
from upper management. The Klens were angry about a negotiated settlement on another matter involving the project the city
negotiated with the Klen's attorney but later recanted. According to the Klen's complaint, they called the City Attorney, John
Duval, a "boob" for being "nakedly obstructionist" during the meeting with the city manager. Williams, a very tall and
intimidating figure, leaned into the Klens and warned them, "you're big boys and you know what you are getting into."
Loveland's Chicago Style Planning Department
In April of 2005 an outside consultant reported to Loveland's City Council just how bad the problem had become in the city's
development process. Hired to improve efficiency in the process, the consultant, Bob Tipton, instead warned the City Council
that what he was going to report was "uncomfortable." He even expressed concern that his car tires may be deflated if
continued reporting his finding in the public meeting.
Tipton, the city hired consultant, disclosed during a public council meeting that his study for the previous four months revealed
a city development process where, "Who you know is sometimes more important (for developers) than following the process,"
Greg George, a defendant in the Klen's civil action, was quoted in an article in the Loveland Reporter Herald in 2005 on the
matter while he was the city's director of development services stating, "There are no real standards, we're not using the zoning
code, so there's a lot of testing and a lot of negotiating."
Tipton also informed the Loveland City Council that unnecessary delays and lack of any reliable process for development
review increased the costs of construction in Loveland for both individual residences and commercial buildings for those
without influence in the process. Two influential developers who sit on the Loveland City Council, David Clark and Larry
Heckel, benefit from favorable treatment, according to some, in the development process and therefore have little incentive to
reform it. In addition, barriers to entry and increased costs for developers competing against the councilman's projects creates
a certain conflict of interest for the two councilors. One of the two serves as the council liaison to the Construction Advisory
Board and neither has recused himself from participating in discussions relating to the Klen's lawsuit.
What They "Got Into"
The Klen's lawsuit has many claims that cover a period of years. The seconded amended complaint can be accessed here by
anyone interested in reading the entire complaint.
According to Klen vs. The City of Loveland complaint filed in court the following is alleged;
1. The Klens received the "verbal" approval to proceed without a building permit on their Phase II (as was a common
practice) but were later cited for building without a permit by city employee Tom Hawkinson (who provided the approval)
while creating secret violation orders to be presented later.
2. Hawkinson issued a "Stop Work Order" during a pour of 300 yards of concrete to maximize the economic damage the
order might create for the Klens
3. Kristine Burns, Loveland's Building Permit Coordinator, lost the Klen's permit application and called them "dickheads"
when they returned with an attorney to complain after many other visits to inquire about the status of their long delayed permit
application.
4. Burns later told the Klens, "If you continue to piss me off, I'll double your fees."
5. The increased fees totaling over $300,000 were the subject of further meetings and disputes where Burns failed to produce
the city's fee schedule. When confronted with a conflicting fee schedule prepared by another employee, Burns is accused of
throwing it in the garbage and stating, "bring in your checkbook and no more questions."
the City Manager. That is without having corrected the known deficiency.
the City Manager. That is without having corrected the known deficiency.
According to one former city official, "After Don Williams became the City of Loveland's City Manager, it became
commonplace and accepted for builders to begin building before they were issued building permits..." Another described the
city's building department as something akin to a "college fraternity" where member developers with beer get what they want
but outsiders are subject to hazing while trying to comply with sophomoric rules enforced in a capricious and arbitrary manner
by an incompetent staff.
Loveland's former senior building inspector, James Cook, who is now a building inspector for the State of Colorado explained
it this way in an affidavit filed in District Court,
"The permissive approach to building permits was part of City of Loveland's policies.....depended on whether the
builder was part of an insider group which included members of the Construction Advisory Board and the City
Council"
Similar to a few notoriously out of control fraternities at CSU, Loveland's development services fraternity may also be in
trouble. Not for any alcohol related deaths but instead because one developer is claiming to have been violated. Two
brothers and their company are seeking compensatory and punitive damages against the City of Loveland for "deliberate
violations" of the Klen's civil rights. Apparently, the Klens fell out of favor and their project fell victim to new rules,
bureaucratic delays, newly created procedures and even criminal prosecution fueled by what appears to be perjury.
The Klens are now suing the City of Loveland in District Court along with senior members of city staff (see blue box on the
right for a list of names). The City of Loveland and staff stand accused of violating their rights to equal protection under the
law and for using their governmental regulatory authority in a retaliatory fashion when the Klens attempted to exercise their first
amendment rights to complain.
What makes the lawsuit and their amended complaint so fascinating is that Ed Klen, one of the two brothers, is hardly an
outsider to the privileged group referenced above by the former city inspector. In 1999 Ed Klen was appointed to the city's
Construction Advisory Board where he served until 2005. While Klen's attorney is reluctant to assign any singular motive to
the city for allegedly persecuting his client during the past four years, a number of facts have emerged in the case that could be
the geneses of staff's animosity towards the Klen brothers and their company Diverse Construction.
The Klen brothers built a 69,000 square foot commercial project in east Loveland near Wal-Mart named the Anasazi Park
beginning in 2000. After they completed the project in 2003, the brothers began work on an adjacent project (referred to as
Phase II) to build an additional 49,000 square foot building. In 2004 they began to run into problems with the City of
Loveland.
Complaint of "intoxicated in his official capacity"
Loveland City Inspector, Richard Hoskinson, is among the city staffers who appear to have a bitter dispute with the Klens.
One reason may be the fact Hoskinson was barred from the Klen brother's construction site during phase 1 of their Anasazi
Park project, according to the Klen's complaint, after Hoskinson "arrived intoxicated in his official capacity" onto their
property. As evidence of the problem, Exhibit 11 of their lawsuit includes Larimer County court records of DUI charges
against Hoskinson dating between 1999 and 2005.
In March of 2005 the Klens met with City Manager Don Williams in an attempt to improve relations with staff and get support
from upper management. The Klens were angry about a negotiated settlement on another matter involving the project the city
negotiated with the Klen's attorney but later recanted. According to the Klen's complaint, they called the City Attorney, John
Duval, a "boob" for being "nakedly obstructionist" during the meeting with the city manager. Williams, a very tall and
intimidating figure, leaned into the Klens and warned them, "you're big boys and you know what you are getting into."
Loveland's Chicago Style Planning Department
In April of 2005 an outside consultant reported to Loveland's City Council just how bad the problem had become in the city's
development process. Hired to improve efficiency in the process, the consultant, Bob Tipton, instead warned the City Council
that what he was going to report was "uncomfortable." He even expressed concern that his car tires may be deflated if
continued reporting his finding in the public meeting.
Tipton, the city hired consultant, disclosed during a public council meeting that his study for the previous four months revealed
a city development process where, "Who you know is sometimes more important (for developers) than following the process,"
Greg George, a defendant in the Klen's civil action, was quoted in an article in the Loveland Reporter Herald in 2005 on the
matter while he was the city's director of development services stating, "There are no real standards, we're not using the zoning
code, so there's a lot of testing and a lot of negotiating."
Tipton also informed the Loveland City Council that unnecessary delays and lack of any reliable process for development
review increased the costs of construction in Loveland for both individual residences and commercial buildings for those
without influence in the process. Two influential developers who sit on the Loveland City Council, David Clark and Larry
Heckel, benefit from favorable treatment, according to some, in the development process and therefore have little incentive to
reform it. In addition, barriers to entry and increased costs for developers competing against the councilman's projects creates
a certain conflict of interest for the two councilors. One of the two serves as the council liaison to the Construction Advisory
Board and neither has recused himself from participating in discussions relating to the Klen's lawsuit.
What They "Got Into"
The Klen's lawsuit has many claims that cover a period of years. The seconded amended complaint can be accessed here by
anyone interested in reading the entire complaint.
According to Klen vs. The City of Loveland complaint filed in court the following is alleged;
1. The Klens received the "verbal" approval to proceed without a building permit on their Phase II (as was a common
practice) but were later cited for building without a permit by city employee Tom Hawkinson (who provided the approval)
while creating secret violation orders to be presented later.
2. Hawkinson issued a "Stop Work Order" during a pour of 300 yards of concrete to maximize the economic damage the
order might create for the Klens
3. Kristine Burns, Loveland's Building Permit Coordinator, lost the Klen's permit application and called them "dickheads"
when they returned with an attorney to complain after many other visits to inquire about the status of their long delayed permit
application.
4. Burns later told the Klens, "If you continue to piss me off, I'll double your fees."
5. The increased fees totaling over $300,000 were the subject of further meetings and disputes where Burns failed to produce
the city's fee schedule. When confronted with a conflicting fee schedule prepared by another employee, Burns is accused of
throwing it in the garbage and stating, "bring in your checkbook and no more questions."
| "The permissive approach to building permits was part of City of Loveland's policies.....depended on whether the builder was part of an insider group which included members of the Construction Advisory Board and the City Council." James Cook City of Loveland's former Senior Inspector Click here for affidavit |
| EDWARD J. KLEN, STEPHEN J. KLEN, DIVERSE CONSTRUCTION, INC. (A Colorado Corporation), and HOLSTEIN SELF-SERVICE STORAGE, LLC (Organized under Colorado Law) Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF LOVELAND, COLORADO (A Colorado Municipal Corporation), THOMAS HAWKINSON, CITY OF LOVELAND BUILDING OFFICIAL, in his individual and official capacities, GREG GEORGE, CITY OF LOVELAND COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR, in his individual and official capacities, DONALD WILLIAMS, CITY OF LOVELAND MANAGER, in his official capacity, RICHARD HOSKINSON, CITY OF LOVELAND BUILDING INSPECTOR, in his individual and official capacities, JOHN R. DUVAL, CITY OF LOVELAND ATTORNEY, in his individual and official capacities, KRISTINE BURNS, CITY OF LOVELAND BUILDING PERMIT COORDINATOR, in her individual and official capacities, DAVID SPRAGUE, CITY OF LOVELAND PLANS REVIEWER, in his individual and official capacities, JEFF McKEE, CITY OF LOVELAND PLANNING TECHNICIAN, in his official capacity, CINDY WORAYETH, CITY OF LOVELAND EMPLOYEE, in her individual and official capacities, JOHN DOE, and/or JANE DOE, in their individual and official capacities. |
| Excerpt of Civil Complaint Filed in District Court to Ed Klen and the Defendants then ignoring identical conduct by other, prosecuted Ed Klen for conduct while improper purpose of interfering with similarly situated developers, including members of the Construction Advisory Board and City Council, with the to improper purpose of interfering with performance of their duties."and retaliating against Klen for his exercise of his First Amendment rights to criticize those officials in the performance of their duties." |
| If you are a current or former City of Loveland employee or anyone with information on this case or the city's process, you are encouraged to contact: John Kenneth Pineau LAW OFFICES OF JOHN KENNETH PINEAU, P.C. Grill Mansion, 2305 Broadway Boulder, Colorado 80304 303-440-4444 johnpineau@yahoo.com |