Permits lacking for Sax’s project

Published 9:00 pm Friday, November 21, 2003

A Snohomish County inspector has discovered a home being built without permits on County Councilman Jeff Sax’s property near Snohomish.

The county’s director of development issues said the county would red-tag the project and stop construction of the home on Friday.

"We haven’t gotten an application yet for this new house," said Faith Lumsden, director of Snohomish County Planning and Development Services. "They will post it with a stop-work order."

The county is also sending a request for a voluntary correction notice to Sax, a first-term Republican councilman who represents District 5. The notice will ask him to address the violations that were discovered on his property.

Sax said he would work to fix the problems.

"Did we make some mistakes? Obviously we made a mistake, because (Planning and Development Services) has come out to red-tag us," Sax said.

"We’re going to adjust and go from there," he said. "I take personal responsibility for everything that’s happened out there."

A county inspector discovered the new home being built next to Sax’s residence during a site visit Thursday. The project was well along, and framing for the home had been finished.

But the councilman’s property, on the west side of 171st Avenue SE north of Dubuque Road, is zoned for one home per five acres. Building more than one home on the land is prohibited, and Sax did not have permits to start construction of the new house.

Sax said the permitting process hasn’t been simple for the project, which involves cutting his property into two parcels and building a second home for his in-laws on the new lot.

Sax is trying to develop his land as a rural cluster subdivision, which is more complicated than the standard short plat subdivision. Short plats are rural properties divided into four or fewer lots. Rural cluster subdivisions involve grouping developed lots together while leaving other portions of the property as open space.

"It’s a complex process, and we didn’t fully appreciate everything that needed to happen," Sax said.

Once Sax gets the county’s letter asking for voluntary compliance with its development code, he may be able to start work again on the new home if he agrees to submit a permit application for the house.

He also will have to sign a waiver to remove one of the homes if his permit request to create a second lot for the new home isn’t approved.

Sax will not receive special treatment from county officials in correcting the problems.

"We are treating this one like any other code violation," Lumsden said.

People found to be violating the county code who receive a voluntary correction letter are typically given two weeks to a month to comply, she said.

If a property owner does not comply with a correction notice, the county can eventually levy fines of up to $100 a day until a building permit application is submitted.

Sax was elected to the County Council in November 2001. His district is a largely rural area that includes the cities of Lake Stevens, Snohomish, Monroe and other towns along U.S. 2.

Sax was no stranger to development issues when he was elected. His three-year battle with county planners over the development of his 10-acre property was one of the reasons he decided to run for office.

Since joining the council, Sax has been a lightning rod on development issues. He has been critical of county growth planners and the Growth Management Act, the state law that restricts development of rural land.

Sax did not fault the county workers who were handling the code violation.

"Planning is doing exactly what they’re supposed to do," Sax said. "They’re supposed to inspect sites, and if people are not in compliance with the code, they help people get back into compliance.

"They’re just doing their job," he said.

Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.