Almost 30 Italian sports cars rusted in a ‘cemetery’ – owner struggles to recover rare cars, but city won’t help

A BUREAUCRATIC battle between a businessman and a zoning officer resulted in a man’s car parts being confiscated.

They now sit in a waiting area of ​​a U-Pull yard to be sold to the public as a whole or in parts.

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Dean Russell worked peacefully as the owner of Trail Auto, an Alfa Romeo specialty shop in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, for decades.

Two doors down from his store, Russell owned land previously zoned for residential use, although the nearby apartment complex had been abandoned for nearly 40 years.

It was incredibly convenient for him, as having normally hard-to-get Italian pieces was made easier – all he had to do was walk to his parking lot.

“I have cars in process and if I need a switch, a headlight, a door handle,” said Russell The Autopiano.

“I could go over there and get it.”

A new city zoning officer approached Russell and told him that “abandoned” and “unlicensed” vehicles were parked in the parking lot, contrary to city code.

The lot was still zoned for residential use, the officer said, although Russell’s tax code has the property listed for commercial use.

The lot with the nearly 30 parts cars was flagged to the city and, after several exchanges between Russell and city officials, a judge signed an order to remove the vehicles from the lot.

“I admit that some [the cars] were ready to leave,” Russell said.

“But not in these conditions… Destroying my property and taking it away like they did with the cars, it’s ugly.”

The city code that arrested Russell was Mon. 32-119which covered “unregistered abandoned scrap vehicles”, which almost perfectly described Russell’s Alfas.

The city also cited Sec 36-255which prohibits “open storage of vehicles or materials”.

He managed to rescue some rare vehicles from the tow trucks and was saddened by the fact that he could save them all.

Now his parts cars are sitting at US Auto, and he was able to see the vehicles listed on the backyard Facebook page announcing the classics that will be on sale soon.

The “free range automotive Costco” was popular with enthusiasts, who traveled far and wide – even to Kent and New York – to get classic parts.

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One yard told Autopian writers that the large group of Alfa Romeos, believed to be Russell’s, was a rare find at the yard, as it is unusual to be able to purchase so many vehicles at once.

Russell tried to defend his case in court, but unfortunately lost the battle.

He told the outlet that he is slowly coming to terms with his situation, although he hinted that he feels like he is the victim of a plague.

A reader of The Autopian’s coverage of the incident was caught in a similar legal battle with his city.

“As someone who has been dealing with issues like this for years, it comes down to one of two things: either you are a politician (often newly elected) on a mission to “change things” or you are a neighbor/busybody ( either a newcomer or a bored long-time resident) who is tasked with ensuring that all laws are enforced,” they wrote.

“As they say, ‘city life is messy’ and everyone has to be willing to make concessions. It may be ‘your land’, but you’re certainly not free to do whatever you want with it.”

Another mentioned a legal loophole that may have saved Russell’s Alphas.

“It appears that the cheapest solution to avoiding a tow in this case would be to register the vehicles with a historic Michigan license plate,” they wrote.

“They have to be over 26, but it costs $30 and is good for 10 years.”

Someone made a wise joke about the “freedoms” that come with owning property.

“What is this now? The government took advantage of vaguely worded statutes to take private property from a citizen?”