1979: Terry and Pamela Johnson establish Marina Bay Boat Rentals at 300 Wrigley Drive, Lake Geneva. They install a 165-foot pier.
1986: The city creates an ordinance limiting piers to 100 feet. The Marina Bay pier is "grandfathered in."
May 1997: The city demands Marina Bay comply with city ordinance. The Johnsons take the city to court.
May 1998: The parties reach an agreement that requires the pier be reduced to 154 feet at the start of the 1999 boating season and then to 100 feet at the start of the 2003 boating season.
November 2002: The parties reach a second agreement that allows the pier to remain at 154 feet through the 2007 boating season but be reduced to 100 feet at the start of the 2008 boating season.
May 2008: The Marina Bay pier is put in the water for the season, still at 154 feet.
June 23, 2008: The city council votes 4-3 to enforce the pier-length ordinance immediately, requiring the Marina Bay pier be reduced to 100 feet.
June 25, 2008: Mayor Bill Chesen vetoes the action because the vote was in conflict with two previous votes, the first to allow the Marina Bay pier to remain at 154 feet through the end of the 2008 boating season and the second to have Marina Bay present an alternative plan to the city.
August 2008: The city council votes to enforce the pier-length ordinance, requiring the Marina Bay pier be reduced to 100 feet at the start of the 2009 boating season.
Nov. 12, 2008: The Johnsons file a notice of claim against the city seeking more than $1.4 million in damages for "attempting to selectively enforce" its pier-length ordinance.
April 24, 2009: The city files for an injunction to keep the Johnsons from installing their pier for the season. The judge refuses to have a hearing without both parties present, and a hearing is set for May 6.
April 25, 2009: The Marina Bay pier is put in the water for the season, still at 154 feet.
April 29, 2009: The Johnsons file for an injunction to keep the city from citing them for being in violation of the pier-length ordinance.
The pier at Marina Bay Boat Rentals in Lake Geneva is 54 feet longer than the 100-foot limit set by city ordinance. The pier—and the enforcement of the regulation—are at the heart of a dispute between Marina Bay’s owners and the city.
LAKE GENEVA — The battle rages on between Terry and Pamela Johnson and the city of Lake Geneva over a pier that is longer than what city ordinance permits.
The Johnsons, who own Marina Bay Boat Rentals at 300 Wrigley Drive, were ordered last summer to reduce the length of their pier to comply with a city ordinance that limits piers to 100 feet. Their pier is 154 feet long.
The city April 24 filed for an injunction to keep the Johnsons from installing their pier for the season.
"Normally you can't get an injunction unless there's a continuing violation or there's an anticipated violation," City Attorney Dan Draper said. "And once I realized that they weren't going to get a permit (for a reconfigured 100-foot pier), I just said, well, I have to assume they'll put (the pier) in at 154 feet."
The judge refused to have a hearing without both parties present, and a hearing was set for May 6.
The Johnsons installed their pier April 25 and 26.
"Since they put the pier in, we couldn't really ask them to not put the pier in, so the issue became moot," Draper said.
The Johnsons on April 29 filed for an injunction to keep the city from citing them for violating the pier-length ordinance.
The parties have reached an agreement for the interim, Draper said.
The Johnsons will be allowed to leave their pier in the water unless a court order is issued, requiring the pier be reduced, and the city will not issue daily citations to the Johnsons.
The Johnsons also will have to post a letter of credit that would require them to pay the city $10,000 if—after the case is settled and all appeals are exhausted—they're required to bring their pier into compliance with city ordinance, Draper said.
"This is an important issue for both parties, so there's no point in trying to rush it," he said. "But it's like we're sitting here pointing guns at each other."
The Johnsons long have maintained that the city is unfairly enforcing its pier-length ordinance. Several city-owned piers are longer than 100 feet, they say.
The Johnsons in November filed a claim against the city seeking more than $1.4 million in damages for "attempting to selectively enforce" the pier-length ordinance.
The city did not deny the claim, but a determination will eventually be made now that the legal proceedings have begun, Draper said.
"We're probably in this for the long haul," he said.
Attorney Lisle Blackbourn, who is representing the Johnsons, could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
Timeline