Towing Yellowstone Towing to Court

The City of Island Park was represented by City Attorney Stephen P. Zollinger, who swore out a criminal complaint on Brad Pickering, Dba Yellowstone Towing for using his residential property to conduct a commercial business. Mr. Pickering purchased the Hungry Bear Market property located on the flats, north of Sawtelle road recently. He also acquired the residence immediately West of the commercial property, across Highway 20. He demolished the fire-damaged market and constructed a building designed to conduct his towing, storage and repair business. The residential property is within the city limits while the adjacent commercial property is not.

It is alleged that Mr. Pickering has been using the residential property to conduct his business, as the commercial property has yet to be occupied. At the time of Mr. Pickering’s arraignment on the misdemeanor of “Failure to comply with the City of Island Park Development Code”, a meeting occurred between the defendant and Mr. Zollinger. The meeting was also attended by Mayor Tom Jewell and Jeff Patlovitch, the City Planning and Building Administrator. Mr. Zollinger reportedly offered to drop the charge if Mr. Pickering would refrain from using his residential property to conduct his business. The defendant insisted that he had grandfather rights to continue his current practice and would not relent. The matter was set for trial.

Island Park has a very unique environment. The city has the longest Main Street in America but few full-time residents. The economy is built around vacations and recreation. These activities are essential to the area’s economic survival. Managing such a large area is the job of the City of Island Park and Fremont County. If commercial enterprises were allowed to establish locations without restriction, the clusters of cabins so enticing to visitors could be made less desirable. This would harm everyone in the caldera and nearby communities. The City is correctly regulating where businesses may operate within its jurisdiction and Mr. Pickering’s attempts to circumvent those efforts are not appreciated.