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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLan Decision - revised Denis Law Mayor � � City Clerk-Jason A.Seth,CMC January 26, 2018 Mr. Wentian Lan 2605 82"d Av NE Medina, Washington 98039 Re: REVISED Hearing Examiner's Decision Code Case No: CODE-16-000613 Dear Mr. Lan: Attached is your copy of the REVISED Hearing Examiner's Decision dated January 20, 2018 in the above-referenced matter. If you have further questions, please contact me in advance of the hearing date at 425-430- 6510. Sincerely, f !�� Jason A. Seth City Clerk cc: Hearing Examiner Craig Burnell, Building Official Donna Locher, Code Compliance Inspector Tim Lawless, Code Compliance Inspector Robert Shuey, Code Compliance Inspector 1055 South Grady Way,Renton,WA 98057 • (425)430-6510/Fax (425)430-6516 • rentonwa.gov OFFICE OF THE HEARING EXAMINER CITY OF RENTON REVISED1 REPORT,DECISION AND REQUIRED CORRECTIVE ACTION—APPEAL OF NOTICES OF VIOLATION(CODE16-000613) Appellant: Wentian Lan 2605 82°d Ave NE Medina, WA 98039 Alleged Violations: RMC 4-4-070P1 —failure to maintain landscaping. Location of Violation: 17630 108t"Ave SE Renton, WA 98055-6451 Public Hearing: November 14, 2017 at Renton City Hall. Decision: Violation sustained; $250 fine suspended for six months until May 14, 2018. If property maintained in compliant with RMC 4-4- 070P1 for that six month period the fine is to be waived and the appeal is considered dismissed. SUMMARY OF DECISION Mr.Lan appeals a Finding of Violation alleging violation of RMC 4-4-070P1 due to failure to maintain landscaping, specifically some of the landscaping has died and weeds needed to be removed. At the hearing Mr. Lan presented photographs that the City agreed showed correction of the violation. Pursuant to agreement of the parties,the$250 fine imposed by the Notice of Violation is suspended for six months. If the property is maintained for that six month period as required by RMC 4-4-070P1, the $250 fine shall be waived and Notice of Violation shall be dismissed. If the property is not maintained as required for that six month period,the Notice of Violation shall be considered sustained and the$250 fine shall be imposed upon successful prosecution by the City of a Second Notice of Violation. SUMMARY OF HEARING TESTIMONY Donna Locher,Renton Code Enforcement Officer,summarized the staff report. She noted that warnings and notices were sent to Mr.Lan in 2016 for the alleged violations. She noted that Mr.Lan has been easy to work with but the property hasn't been sufficiently maintained as required by City regulations. In response to examiner questions,Mr.Locher noted that the building was built when the property was in King County so to determine what landscaping was required for the project,the City is going by the landscaping was installed. ' This Decision has been revised to replace all references to a$100 fine with a$250 fine. The original decision was incorrectly based upon the premise that the fine of the subject NOV was$100. The fine was$250. Appeal of Notice of Violation Page 2 Mr.An spoke on behalf of Mr.Lan. He is a friend of Mr.An and was there to translate for him. He noted that Mr.Lan not contesting the allegations. Mr.An explained that he is Mr.Lan's contractor. He noted that Mr.Lan's prior contractor had commenced work at the project site without acquiring necessary permits and because of this Mr.Lan has lost a lot of money in trying to redevelop the site. The prior contractor scammed Mr.Lan for a lot of money. Since the property is vacant,no one has been monitoring the landscaping. He has someone go out to the property once every two or three weeks to clean it up,but Mr.Lan hasn't done any replanting or trimming of trees. However,since Mr.An became involved he has brought out his own landscaper to the project site and improved the landscaping as required by the City. A fence that had been installed by Mr.Lan along the right of way has been removed. Mr.Lan isn't ignoring the City's request,he's doing what he can to comply. In response to examiner questions,Mr.Locher confirmed that more than clean up of the landscaping is necessary;that plants need to be installed and weeds need to be removed. Mr.Locher noted that the new landscaping work done by Mr.An looks really good and is what the City was looking for in compliance. Mr.Locher agreed to have the fines be suspended for six months. EXHIBITS Exhibits 1-16 identified in the City's exhibit list were admitted into the record during the hearing. Seven photographs depicting new landscaping work were admitted from the Appellant as Exhibit 17. FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Appellant/Propertv Owner. The property owner is Wentian Lan,2605 82nd Ave NE Medina,WA 98039 2. ProaertX. The property subject to this appeal is located at 17630 108th Ave SE Renton, WA 98055-6451 3. Subject of Anpeal. The Appellant appeals a Finding of Violation("FOV")issued on October 12,2017,Ex. 15. The FOV asserts that Mr Lan failed to maintain landscaping as required by RMC 4-4-070P1. 4. Landscaping Not Maintained. Mr. Lan does not contest the fact and photographs submitted by the City establish that on October 12, 2017 the landscaping of the property was not maintained due to the presence of dying plants and weeds. 5. "Required" Landscaping. The evidence in the record does not identify specifically what landscaping was required for the project site when the buildings located on the property on the day of violation were constructed. The City identified that the building was subject to King County approval because it was constructed prior to annexation of the subject property into the City of Renton. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, it is determined under the preponderance of evidence standard that more likely than not all landscaping on the subject property was required by King County regulations,as it was unlikely that any prior property owner added landscaping after King County approval of the building. 6. Landscapinp_Now Maintained. Mr. Lan established through photographs admitted as Exhibit 17 that the landscaping is now properly maintained, with removal and replacement of dying plants, and removal of weeds and litter. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW Appeal of Notice of Violation Page 3 1. Hearine Examiner Jurisdiction. The hearing examiner has jurisdiction to hear an appeal of a Notice of Violation as a designee of the Administrator of the Department of Community and Economic Development. See RMC 1-3-2(B)(1)and RMC 1-3-2(E). As designee of the Administrator,the examiner is authorized to require corrective action for Findings of Violation that become final pursuant to 1-3-2(D)(2) 2. Applicable Code provisions. The FOVs assert violation of RMC 4-4-070P1, which is quoted below in italics. RMC4-4-070P1 : Maintenance Required:Landscaping required by this Section shall be maintained by the owner and shall be subject to periodic inspection by the Department of Community and Economic Development. Plantings are to be maintained in a healthy, growing condition and those dead or dying shall be replaced. Property owners shall keep the planting areas reasonably free of weeds and litter. 3. RMC4-4-070P1 violation sustained. The City has established that the Appellant has failed to maintain landscaping as required by RMC4-4-070P1. As determined in the Findings of Fact of his decision, on the alleged October 12,2017 date of violation,the property was not property maintained due t the presence of dying landscape plants, weeds and litter. Although the landscaping was required by King County, it is deemed "required by this Section"via the City's nonconforming site development standards, RMC 4-10- 020. 4. Miti�ation ofFines. RMC 1-3-2(E)(3)(�authorizes the examinerto mitigate fines. Since(1)the violations have been corrected as determined in Finding of Fact No.6;(2)the Appellant has cooperated with the City in code compliance efforts; and(3)the City is in agreement,the $250 fine imposed by the subject Finding of Violation will be suspended for six months. DECISION The$250 fine imposed by the Notice of Violation under appeal is suspended for six months through May 14,2018. If the property is maintained for that six-month period as required by RMC 4-4-070P1,the$250 fine shall be waived and Notice of Violation shall be dismissed. If the property is not maintained as required for that six-month period, the Notice of Violation shall be considered sustained and the $250 fine shall be imposed upon successful prosecution by the City of a Second Notice of Violation. Decision issued January 20, 2018. ��F��C''��� �h���lbre�chts Hearing Examiner NOTICE OF RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RECONSIDERATION Appeal of Notice of Violation Page 4 An appeal of the decision of the Hearing Examiner must be filed with Superior Court within twenty-one calendar days,as required by the Land Use Petition Act, Chapter 36.70C RCW. Reconsideration requests are authorized for up to ten business days after issuance of this decision if filed with Renton City Clerk.