BISBEE - Cochise County officials contend the head of the Miracle Valley Bible complex is operating guest lodging without a special-use permit.
If true, the Rev. Melvin Harter faces up to $750 a day in fines.
Harter said he and the county Planning and Zoning Department have not been able to reach an agreement. He believes no permit is required.
The brouhaha has been simmering since February. It came to a boil April 8 when Jim Vlahovich, in his position as the county's zoning inspector, sent Harter a three-page letter informing the church leader that he was in violation of county ordinances.
The issue spilled over Friday when e-mails questioned Vlahovich's motives, implying he was trying to stop Minuteman Project volunteers from having a place to stay while they patrolled the U.S.-Mexico border.
Vlahovich and Cochise County Board Chairman Pat Call say that is not true.
Even Harter distanced himself from the allegations.
Since the listing of the county's proposed actions against Harter, Vlahovich has received a number of hate e-mails. One called the Marine veteran a communist. "I guess it is because of my (last) name," he said.
Another writer told him to get out of the country, and yet another hoped he would be killed by an illegal immigrant.
Most contained derogatory language, but what concerns Vlahovich is that someone from out-of-state called his home wanting to talk with him.
An e-mail sent to the Herald/Review encouraged people to write the planning and zoning director.
"Please contact James E. Vlahovich and share your displeasure with this unacceptable action against Americans (Minuteman Project volunteers) exercising their First Amendment rights and the rights of the property owners to do with their property as they please."
Vlahovich said the people he has been able to talk with over the phone come around and understand what the county is doing. He said they end up not seeing it as anti-Minuteman program.
Call said he spoke with Jim Gilchrist, a co-organizer of the Minuteman Project, on Friday about the situation. He said Gilchrist disavowed any action by his supporters.
Gilchrist could not be reached for comment on Friday.
Call said Minuteman Project participants have not done anything wrong and have behaved well.
As for Vlahovich doing his job, Call said the planning and zoning director is correct in addressing problems caused by Harter and his refusal to have a permit to operate guest lodging.
Vlahovich said there were discussions with church representative three times in March, two verbally and one through a letter.
Harter said he was working on obtaining permits, but he was told by Vlahovich, "I was not going to get one."
The minister said there was no reason to continue the process and throw away money, even if it was $30 for the processing fee.
Vlahovich said he never told Harter he would stop a permit because he does not have that authority. Harter was told it was too late for the permit processing to take place because of the need for the Planning and Zoning Commission to review the application to have it approved to be in place when the volunteers showed up to live at the college campus near Palominas, he said.
In the past, the planning staff have recommended approval for permits sought by Harter, such as a day-care center and charter school, which the commission approved, Vlahovich said.
Vlahovich said Harter does not recognize that most of the activities on the church property are no longer grandfathered, which means changes have to be approved according to county ordinances. This, he said, includes allowing property to be used for guest lodging, as is this case to support the Minuteman Project volunteers.
In his April 8 letter to the church leader, Vlahovich noted the planning staff met with him on March 8, by letter on March 17 and by phone on March 30 to inform Harter that the RV park at the college and dormitories on the property could not be used as guest lodging without a special-use permit.
At one time, Vlahovich's letter noted Harter suggested he "might hold a revival for the Minuteman while they were staying in your dormitories, RVs and in tents pitched on the property."
If a revival was to be held, it would require a temporary-use permit, which could only last a week during a three-month period, the letter stated.
The letter stated the minister advertised lodging at the church complex through a Minuteman Project Web site.
"You are providing accommodations for overnight or short-term lodging and are in fact charging for these services per your previous statements and attached advertisement," the April 8 letter stated.
Another problem with allowing the Bible campus to be used for a large number of people is sanitation, Vlahovich said during a telephone interview. The subject was not addressed in the letter.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has looked at the area and agency officials have expressed concerns about an inadequate sanitation system, he said.
Because of the purported violations, Vlahovich contends Harter could be fined up to $750 a day.
No fines have been collected, and that can only be done after a due process, including a hearing, Vlahovich said.
Harter said he faces the problem that the county believes the Bible college is not a church.
He will be responding the planning department's allegations through an attorney, while he works on seeking permits.
The minister said he believes the county is wrong about using the dormitories as guest lodging in light that a portion of a girl's facility is his home, "my parsonage."
Call said the main problem is Harter believes he is above rules that every county resident faces.
"He continues to flagrantly violate them," he said.
Harter cannot be given special consideration that is not given any other county resident, Call said.
"He just has a disregard for the rules," he said.
How interesting...the timing of all this is simply coincidental.
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