The Crown Point City Council approved a variance of use to allow the Antique Mall to open in an industrial district while also striking down most of the conditions put on the owner of the lease of the building by the Board of Zoning Appeals.

At Monday’s council meeting, city attorney David Nicholls called the conditions “a complete legal mess” and ripe to put the city in a lawsuit.

The board last week imposed the conditions for the new Antique Mall in a 3-1 vote sending a favorable recommendation to the council.

The Antique Mall in the downtown square closed in early June so the owner of the building could make renovations and pursue other uses for the site. About 45 of the vendors have been moving into a warehouse at 545 E. 110th Ave. in Crown East, just west of Interstate 65 and south of 109th Avenue. The building was leased by Mark Kratkoczki for the purpose of relocating the vendors.

Nicholls said the city’s legal department determined that it would be in the best interest of the city to grant the approval but to strike the conditions that were imposed on the property by the board.

Conditions included that the petitioner does not allow for parking on the street and to be responsible for its enforcement. Another called for signs to be installed by the petitioner reflecting “no parking” in designated areas.

Mayor David Uran said those are for the city to control.

“To ask the petitioner to require no parking on the street — they are not law enforcement,” Mayor David Uran said. “To do that is unreasonable.”

Councilwoman Carol Drasga said she was stunned that the vendors had already moved into the building prior to approval of its use.

“I was extremely offended they felt they could just move in,” she said.

Kratkoczki said he signed lease day before Antique Mall closed.

“Nobody had a place to take their stuff,” he said. “That is kind of the reason we moved faster than what we wanted to. I jumped in and tried to give all these people somewhere to go.”

In its 7-0 vote the council retained one condition imposed by the board, that being the six month probationary period.

“You can open your doors,” Uran told Kratkoczki.

Rob Earnshaw is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.