Snohomish County has ordered a contractor to pay $6,100 for tearing out sensitive shoreline at his home on Flowing Lake and replacing it with a sand beach and grass lawn. The work was done without a permit.
Snohomish County hearing examiner Gordon Crandall issued the fine this month and also said Jason and Jennifer Bruers must pay $100 a day until they get proper permits from the county for the work they did.
Obtaining such a permit might require some shoreline restoration. The lake is presumed critical habitat for bull trout.
The property is in the 17000 block of 48th Street SE in Snohomish. In summer 2006, plants along the shoreline were removed and topsoil and sand hauled in to build a lawn with an irrigation system. The county had not given permission for the work.
Jason Bruers admitted to the work but said he didn’t need a permit.
He said he brought in topsoil and lawn seed and planted bushes. Sand that appears to be a beach was meant to filter rainwater runoff heading for the lake.
A neighbor complained, and even as hearings were taking place last year on the unpermitted landscaping, he started building a 24-foot-long dock on concrete pilings on the lake without a permit, county officials said.
Bruers is owner of Infrastructure Systems Inc., a Snohomish-based firm that does site and utility work for housing developments.
The county said Bruers ignored the rules requiring permits for the work and protections for the shoreline.
Bill Foster, Bruers’ attorney, said county rules don’t require a grading permit for landscaping.
“Any activity that Mr. Bruers engaged in on his property is consistent with county code and did not require a grading permit,” Foster said. “This isn’t a situation where Mr. Bruers excavated his property. He landscaped his property just like every other residential dwelling unit owner in Snohomish County does.”
The case might end up in county Superior Court, Foster said.
“I disagree with the decision of the examiner in the essence of the case but I also disagree with the decision of the examiner as to the fine,” Foster said.
County deputy prosecuting attorney Catherine Drews argued the case for the county and said she was pleased with the outcome.
“We look forward to working with Mr. and Mrs. Bruers to bring their property into compliance,” Drews said.
The clock has temporarily stopped on the daily fines after the county asked the hearing examiner to require a firmer deadline of March 13 for the Bruerses to apply for a permit. Also, Drews asked for the $6,100 fine to be due the same day.
More hearings are possible as the fines are figured out.
The state Department of Ecology also is investigating the Bruerses for building the dock on the lake without a permit.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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