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Director Keating said it keeps getting more confusing and the facts keep getting more <br />muddled. He said they were still operating under the provisions in Bruce Barkett's letter, that <br />there was a crisis counseling staff out there from right after 2005 until 2006. Therefore, staff s <br />determination was based on the fact that the use never completely stopped. However, hearing <br />both arguments, he felt they were even more unsure after today than they were before. <br />Commissioner Wheeler remarked that after today, we need to look at our procedure on <br />these things. <br />CLOSING ARGUMENTS BYATTORNEYHENDERSON <br />Attorney Henderson, sought to disprove cessation of use, based on the earlier testimony <br />of Ms. Wakefield. He admitted that the property was vacated on April 1, 2005 by residents and <br />that buildings were in use by employees, the Mobile Crisis Response Team that moved back in <br />on May 15. Therefore, at first glance, one might argue that there is a one-year period that the <br />property was not in use, and therefore the ordinance requires that the nonconforming use is no <br />longer valid. But he is saying that is not quite the case, and it is not the proper analysis, because <br />there has to be shown an intent to abandon the use. He referenced an earlier point by Attorney <br />O'Haire who contended that Alcohope signed a lease in 2003 to move elsewhere, which proved <br />they intended to abandon their operation. That, he felt, was not the criteria, because according to <br />testimony they did not move out until April 1St <br />Attorney Henderson argued that the criterion was, what did New Horizons intend. He <br />recapped the testimony from Linda Wakefield and the Pastor from the Crossings which purports <br />that there was an effort being made from April 1, 2005, all the way to the acquisition of the <br />property by The Source, to find a buyer for the property that would use it as a residential <br />treatment center. Ms. Wakefield also testified that the Director of New Horizons recognized the <br />April 24, 2008 47 <br />Special Call Meeting (The Source) <br />