DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – The owners of a Detroit Lakes gym have taken their fight with the city public.
April Imholte, owner of The Iron Shed Gym near Long Lake claims Detroit Lakes City officials have turned building code issues with her facility, “personal”.
In November, the city issued a cease and desist order to shut down the gym due to zoning infractions and then launched an investigation into whether that order had been violated.
“Pretty much right away city officials were on my case about a building code issues within my building, my husband and I attempted to work with them to resolve this issue…but I knew in this situation there had to be a way to work around this building code. It was clear from the first time we sat down with them they had no intention of helping us come up with a solution,” said Imholte.
Documents provided by the city of Detroit Lakes indicate the original permit for the building the gym is located was to be used for residential improvements and not commercial use, a point of contention was the requirement to have an ADA compliant bathroom.
After asking for an extension from the city, the Imholtes did not bring their building up to code for commercial use, nor did they apply for or receive a conditional use permit from the city. In late April an investigation was opened by the city to see if the cease and desist order had been violated after city officials saw facebook posts that led them to believe the gym was open for business.
Kyle Imholte told the Detroit Lakes Tribune on Monday that in hindsight it might have been easier to just put in a bathroom but feels the city has used bullying tactics to force he and his wife to comply.
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