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Harbor Thrift Store on campus of Harbor Church; topic on today’s LaFollette workshop agenda
LAFOLLETTE, TN. (WLAF)- A codes issue has developed into controversy for a local thrift store.
The dispute will be heard at Monday’s City of LaFollette workshop. The meeting begins at 5:30pm, Jan. 27, at City Hall.
It was by chance on Dec. 2 when LaFollette City Codes Officer Stuart Hurwitz noticed work being done at The Harbor Thrift Store. As the city codes officer, he should have known about the work but didn’t, he said. Hurwitz asked if the store had a building permit since they were remodeling.
They didn’t have the required permit but were told to come to city hall and apply for a permit. Later in the day, The Harbor Church Pastor James Coffey came to city hall with an application for the building permit. While Hurwitz was gathering information for the permit, he discovered the building didn’t have a firewall between the church and the thrift store, the space didn’t have fireproof door and lacked fire dampers for the HVAC system, he said.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered the sprinkler system inside the church hadn’t been inspected since 2004. Hurwitz said sprinkler system inspections should be done quarterly.
As part of an attempt to bring the store up to code, Hurwitz requested Coffey submit a dimensional drawing by a registered architect for the space since it was over 5,000 sq feet, have the sprinkler system inspected as well as provide an invoice showing where Coffey had ordered the fireproof doors and damper.
Hurwitz then gave The Harbor Thrift Store a 30-day temporary use permit, he said.
On Dec. 23, Hurwitz received an email from Coffey showing a conversation about ordering the doors, but didn’t provide an invoice, according to Hurwitz. As of Jan. 2, Hurwitz hadn’t received any of the items he had requested from Coffey.
After the store’s failure to comply, Hurwitz prepared a cease and desist order for the Harbor Thrift Store. However, before Hurwitz could issue the cease and desist, the store voluntarily closed, he said. Social media posts indicate the store has been intermittently open since.
Before the store can reopen, a new building permit needs to be issued and the requested items need to be completed. Hurwitz said he was “looking out for the safety of the public”.
In a social media post Coffey thanked people for their overwhelming support. He said many people have asked why the store was closed.
“The answer is so lengthy that it would be nearly impossible to adequately explain in a post,” Coffey said on social media. Coffey has requested to speak at the city workshop next Monday where he “plans to share the details of the entire process with everyone openly, as well as express the concerns that have been raised by so many throughout this entire ordeal.”
(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 1/23/2025-6AM-UPDATED-01/27/2025-6AM)