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09/10/2008: "County Reviews Code Enforcement Policy"

Responding to a number of complaints that the County is not doing enough to stop code violations, the Council discussed the matter on Tuesday with County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord and the Code Enforcement Officer for Community Development & Planning.

The Council had recently received a packet of photos (above) and background material alleging a land clearing violation on Orcas of un-permitted clear cutting.

While the material was used as an example of why stronger enforcement and fines, were needed, it turned out that the cutting of trees on the property was not a county land use violation, or a violation of state logging regulations; but in any case it served as a launching point for the Council to voice support for a review of current policies.


Gaylord explained that when the policy was written in 1998 the county was “looking thought the eyes of the home owner, not a contractor.” Gaylord explained the policy is to work with, and to educate, the property owner, then if necessary, to take legal action.

Councilman Rich Peterson said there was a need for a way to immediate stop illegal action when it is noted, and not to allow it to continue while working with the property owner. Gaylord explained that a “Stop Work” order can be used when necessary.

Councilman Gene Knapp expressed his concern that there is an opinion by many that nothing will happen if you violate a regulation, but if there were fines and strong enforcement, that opinion could be changed. Knapp added that “we have to be sure our regulations are reasonable, and understandable, or that adds to the problem.”

One of the ongoing concerns by the Council has been the lack of follow-up on projects to determine if all of the regulations and requirements of the permit have been followed. Another concern was the policy on allowing so-called “after the fact” permits.

Gaylord said that in his opinion the current policy regarding the doubling of fees for such permits is not enough, and the “it should be five times that amount.”

The discussion ended in the normal manner of deciding to obtain additional information and then have further discussion. This led Councilman Bob Myhr to note that the Council had “received a Jan 2 2008 Memo from Prosecuting Attorneys office about Code Enforcement, but have not seen anything since then.