MARSHALL — The Marshall City Council opened the door to possible legal action against the owners of the Broadmoor Valley mobile home park this week. Council members voted to give approval for a law firm to pursue enforcement action over alleged city code violations at Broadmoor Valley.

The owners of Broadmoor Valley were sued by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office, but the lawsuit was unsuccessful, Marshall City Attorney Pam Whitmore said at Tuesday’s city council meeting.

“Since that time, we’ve had to take a look at what city enforcement actions are available, because we’ve been receiving quite a few complaints about code violations,” Whitmore said.

One recent complaint was about a locked gate that was installed at one of the park’s only two entrances in late March. Marshall’s zoning regulations for manufactured home parks say they must have at least two access points to a public right of way. When the gate is closed, the only way in or out of Broadmoor Valley is the entrance along Saratoga Street.

“Our letters to the property owner have been unsuccessful, and in fact we have been told that city staff cannot come onto the property at all to investigate or respond to complaints that we have received from residents,” Whitmore said. “As a result of that, and the lack of cooperation, the city’s recourse is really to ask a court to get involved.”

Materials in Tuesday’s council agenda packet included copies of email communications between Marshall city offices and Paul Schierholz, of Schierholz & Associates, the Broadmoor Valley owners.

An email from the city said a letter about the gate installation was mailed to Schierholz on March 31. The city set an April 4 deadline for Broadmoor Valley to comply with city code about the number of entrances to the mobile home park.

Due to failure to correct the code violation, the city was imposing a civil penalty of $100 per day starting April 7, the email said.

An April 8 email from Schierholz said, “We consider this government overreach.”

Schierholz’s email went on to say that police and firefighters were welcome on the Broadmoor Valley property for police business and emergencies, and that officials from the Minnesota Department of Health have the right to enter the property for inspections.

“No one else, including city officials, has the right to trespass on our property,” Schierholz’s email said. “State law requires a nonresident must be accompanied by a tenant to enter our private property.”

In the email, Schierholz said Broadmoor Valley’s homes were built to federal standards, and are not regulated by state or local jurisdiction. He also said state laws governed Broadmoor Valley’s management with tenants. Broadmoor Valley policy required concerns by tenants to be put in writing and forwarded to park management, the email said.

Council members didn’t discuss the alleged city code violations, or specifics about legal action against Broadmoor Valley owners, at Tuesday’s council meeting. But they did vote to authorize Kennedy & Graven, the law firm Whitmore is a part of, to pursue enforcement actions to bring the property into compliance with city code.