Minneapolis fines developer Hamoudi Sabri $13K for allowing homeless encampment on property
The City of Minneapolis on Thursday escalated its legal battle against developer Hamoudi Sabri and fined him $13,000 for failing to clear the homeless encampment on his property.
The fine is being assessed as a special tax levy, according to city officials, and covers the cost to the city's public works department, which cleared the lot earlier this fall.
"I'd rather have the city fix the issue. I'm here to help the city fix the issue. I see the city being run very poorly with no business skills," a defiant Sabri told WCCO on Thursday. "My culture, my belief, I cannot see someone abused and watch it. I have to do something about it. I'm raised that way."
The move by the city comes nearly two months after a mass shooting at the encampment left one person dead.
A judge granted the city's request to remove the encampment from Sabri's parking lot, but the business owner said it's left people without their belongings, resources and a place to go, and he blames Mayor Jacob Frey.
"Minneapolis used to be beautiful and a good place to invest. When the city gets rotted, the state is going to get rotted. It's spreading to Rochester and St. Cloud," Sabri added.
The city sent Sabri a public health nuisance letter in mid-July, which listed six violations:
- Presence of drug paraphernalia and hazardous sharps
- Improperly stored or accumulated solid waste and refuse
- Lack of water access or adequate sanitation facilities (sewage disposal)
- Unstable and unsafe structures (e.g., tents, makeshift shelters)
- Presence of junk and debris hazardous to health and safety
- Evidence of open fires and uncontrolled combustibles
Sabri is appealing those violations and the special assessment, his attorney confirmed, with another hearing with a City Council committee scheduled for early next year.