Mike's to Have All Used Cars Removed by Selectmen's Deadline

The owner of says he will have all of the used cars removed from the downtown Hamilton property by next week’s deadline.

Mike Holland said last week he is still looking for a place where he can legally move the cars, which have been ordered to be removed by July 5.

The , which ordered Holland to comply with his Class II motor vehicle dealer’s license that does not allow used cars sales on the property or allow used cars to be stored there.

After the 30 day deadline was set, Holland’s attorney, Jim Kroesser, wrote to the board and asked it to extend the deadline until after the Zoning Board of Appeals rules on an application that would give him permission, under zoning, to sell cars.

It could take a while for the ZBA to final a decision and it could be appealed, Town Manager Michael Lombardo told Selectmen.

“It could be several months, or longer, that they could be out of compliance with the Class II license,” he said.

Board Chairman David Neil said Holland had been given a 30-day “grace period” to comply with the license and the board was not inclined to extend it any further. The Class II license is “broadly related but not directly linked” to Holland’s application for a special permit from the ZBA to sell used cars.

Neil noted that the town’s three other Class II license holders are complying with the restriction that cars cannot be stored or sold on site.

Selectman Marc Johnson said he wants Holland to have income from selling cars, “we just don’t want the cars on site.”

If the cars are not removed by July 5, the board could begin the process of revoking Holland’s Class II license. Lombardo said he would assemble a memo outlining the revocation process for the board.

Holland said he was issued the license in 2008 and it did not say on the license that he was not allowed to sell the cars on the property. It wasn’t until May, , that it became clear used cars were being sold on the property.

“We’re going to have to get the cars out of here,” Holland said.

He’s had as many as 20 cars for sale on the property at one time and last week there were seven for sale.

“Moving seven cars is a logistical nightmare,” Holland said.

All of the cars run and can be driven with temporary license plates. But Holland said he needs to find somewhere that he can store seven unregistered cars.

“Wherever we move the cars it has to be legal,” he said. “Right at this moment I do not know where they will go.”

Already, Holland said he reduced the number of cars on the lots by selling them but also by taking some to auction.

“Since this all started we have been selling down the inventory,” he said, adding he has not added a new used car to the property “for a couple of months.”

Holland said he was never told about the restrictions on the Class II license and never told that he needs a special permit from the ZBA to sell used cars onsite. If he knew that, he would not have gone out and spent $25,000 to $30,000 to buy used Hondas and Toyotas, he said.

Regardless, he said he would now comply with the license by the deadline he was given.