SNOHOMISH – Restaurant owners who commissioned a controversial mural depicting pigs on an outside wall say the city owes them $250,000 for lost business, stress and unnecessary attorney fees.
Herald file
They singled out Mayor Liz Loomis and other city employees and board members for continued harassment since the restaurant opened in late December.
That’s pure hogwash, Loomis said.
“I think the claim is bogus, and I think people need to know what’s going on here,” she said.
Steve and Janelle Carpenter, owners of the BBQ Shack at Second Street and Avenue D, filed the damage claim with the city Aug. 31. They expect the city to either reject it or not act on it within the 60-day time limit set by law.
Both sides believe the issue will go to Superior Court.
The dispute began late last year when the Carpenters prepared to open the business and started painting the mural without a permit. The restaurant is in a historic section of town where there are strict rules on such things as outside appearance.
The couple said they didn’t know they needed a permit because the city told them they could paint the outside of the building, according to the claim.
The city intervened and stopped the painting, and the business eventually opened with the mural covered.
The city’s design review board, an advisory committee of five design professionals who review exterior changes in the historic district, first opposed the mural on the grounds that it didn’t comply with design standards set to preserve the integrity of the historic downtown.
Later, the board allowed the business to keep the mural with a new outside eating area.
“I’m comfortable we did everything we could to work with the Carpenters,” Loomis said.
The hassle over the mural delayed the restaurant opening for nearly three months, causing revenue loss, Steve Carpenter said, adding that the couple have spent thousands of dollars in attorney fees.
Since their business opened, the Carpenters said they have been harassed by city officials.
They accuse Loomis of telling others that “she wants to destroy” the business, the claim says. The Carpenters have been prevented from erecting other signs promoting the business while the city allows similar signs nearby, the complaint alleges.
Among other things, they also charge that the BBQ Shack has been singled out for strict enforcement of the laws for screening a dumpster. In the claim, the couple allege that the city shut down a drive-in window for safety reasons, even though another business in the city has a similar window.
The claim also says Loomis stopped work at the restaurant and demanded to see the building permit.
“She knew we had a permit. It’s a pure harassment,” Steve Carpenter said.
Loomis agreed she made a comment to the workers, but as a joke, and never demanded to see the permit. The claim is frivolous, she added.
“We will defend it, but this is an incredible waste of taxpayers’ dollars,” she said. “We could use the money for other things that people want.”
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@ heraldnet.com.
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