Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWilliamson DecisionCode Enforcement Decision - 1 BEFORE THE HEARING EXAMINER OF RENTON DECISION FILE NUMBER: (FOV) 19-000389 VIOLATION SITE ADDRESS: 2011 Harrington Ave NE Renton, WA 98056 PROPERTY OWNER: Gary Williamson REVIEW AUTHORITY: City of Renton TYPE OF CASE: Appeal of Finding of Violation RULING: Finding of Violation for Violation No. 1 is sustained. A $200 fine is imposed. SUMMARY Violation No. 1 (inoperable vehicle) of the June 27, 2019 Finding of Violation is sustained. The fine has been reduced from $250 to $200 as Mr. Williamson abated the violation HEARING The hearing was held on the alleged violations of this case on August 20, 2019 at the Renton City Hall Council Chambers, 1055 South Grady Way, Renton, WA 98057. TESTIMONY Kevin Louder, testified as follows: On June 26, 2019, Code Compliance received an inspection request for Inoperable Vehicles located at 2011 Harrington Avenue NE. On that day, Mr. Louder performed the inspection and observed 4 vehicles on the property. One of the vehicles was a GMC Suburban with plate AWK0102. When Mr. Louder got back to his own office, on the same day, June 26, 2019, he ran a Department of Licensing search on all four vehicles. Three of them were licensed and the fourth, the GMC Suburban, had expired plates. (Exhibit 4) as of May 21, 2019. Mr. Louder issued a Finding of Violation for an Inoperable Vehicle because Renton Municipal 6-1-2 defines an inoperable vehicle as a vehicle that could not be lawfully operated upon on a public highway. Code Enforcement Decision - 2 Mr. Louder testified that warnings for the same violation had been given previously. The most recent warning was given on August 8, 2018. (Code Violation 18-000512). Mr. Louder testified that the vehicle came into compliance and that case was closed in December of 2018. Mr. Louder testified that Mr. Williamson had also previously been sent a Warning of Violation, that included several different violations on November 29, 2016 (Code Violation 16-000788). That case was also subsequently closed because of compliance. Mr. Gary Williamson has been the owner of the property dating back to 2016. Mr. Williamson questioned Mr. Louder and wanted to know why he wasn’t contacted at the time the violation was observed. Mr. Louder testified as there had been a warning issued less than 12 months since the last case and also warnings issued in the 2016 case. It became a pattern of the same violation occurring and Mr. Louder stated it was not the City’s position that it has to issue warnings to Mr. Williamson multiple times to get the license plates renewed. Mr. Gary Williamson testified as follows: He did receive a notice from the State of Washington that his tabs where due and he failed get them in on a timely manner. At the time that Mr. Louder wrote the violation Mr. Williamson had pneumonia. A week after he received the citation in the mail, Mr. Williamson went down and renewed the tabs on the truck. Other than that, Mr. Williamson testified that the truck is completely operable. If Mr. Louder had knocked on the door, Mr. Williamson said he could have driven the truck to show that it was completely operable. The only problem was the tabs and Mr. Williamson went the following Saturday and renewed the tabs on the truck. Mr. Williamson testified that he also heart problems and other things going on. Mr. Williamson stated he mentioned the heart problem as his legs swell quite a bit and it tears the skin, limiting the amount of things that he can do. Mr. Williamson felt almost like he was being harassed because he had gotten three different notices about the citation. On June 30, 2019, he received a Notice telling him about the $250.00 fine and the violation. Them again on July 1, 2019 he received a Notice telling him about the $250.00 fine and the violation. Finally, on July 3, 2019, Mr. Williamson received a form instructing him how to submit payment. Mr. Williamson felt that one Notice would have been more than adequate to let him know what was going on and all three things of these documents could have gone in the same envelope. Mr. Williamson testified he had problems with the Code Enforcement Department in the past and he has never given them any type of harassment, never cursed at them, never hollered at them, always been compliant and gotten things back into order. Given that history, Mr. Williamson doesn’t understand why he couldn’t have been spoken to at the time of violation because he would have gone down and gotten the tabs that day or had someone go get them for him. Mr. Williamson said the truck has insurance and everything else on it was in compliance. Mr. Williamson said it was just an oversight on his part that he didn’t get the tabs on it in time. Mr. Williamson submitted a form from Overlake Hospital dated on 6/30/19, marked at Exhibit A. The paperwork states that the diagnosis was a cough and described pneumonia. Mr. Williamson stated he was advised he had pneumonia. The doctor’s order from the walk-in visit in Exhibit A instructed Mr. Williamson to takes antibiotics. Mr. Williamson testified he is not telling the Hearing Examiner he had pneumonia the entire time the car was unlicensed. He is only stating that when he received the Notice of violation, he didn’t realize he had let the time lag on the tabs. He received the notice 6/29/19 and on Sunday 6/30/19 he went into the doctor and that’s when they diagnosed pneumonia. He had been sick probably four days prior to that. Mr. Williams did go and get new Code Enforcement Decision - 3 tabs and has a new registration form, marked as Exhibit B, once he felt better. The tabs and registration were issued July 6, 2019. EXHIBITS Exhibits 1-7 identified in the City’s exhibit list were entered into the record during the hearing. Exhibits A and Exhibit B, submitted by Mr. Williamson were also entered into the record during the hearing. FINDINGS OF FACT 1.Violation Site. The violation site is located at 20ll Harrington Avenue, NE, Renton, WA 98056. The site in question is owned by Gary Williamson. 2.Code Compliance History. The City had previously contacted Mr. Williamson with a Warning of Violation on November 29,2016 for File No. 16-000788, which included several code violations. In that matter, Mr. Williamson subsequently abated the violations and the case was closed Subsequently, Mr. Williamson was then sent another Warning of Violation, File No. 18-000512, including a Junk or Hulk Vehicle on August 8, 2018. In that matter, Mr. Williamson subsequently abated the violation and the case was closed 3. Expired Tabs In the present case, CODE 19-000389, Mr. Louder issued a Finding of Violation (FOV), dated June 27, 2019, to Mr. Gary Williamson, the owner of the violation site, for an inoperable vehicle, a GMC truck license number WA plat AWK0102, located at the violation site on June 27, 2019. The vehicle was cited as inoperable because its tabs had expired. Mr. Louder’s findings were based upon his observations of the violation site on June 26, 2019 and DOL records from June 26, 2017. Mr. Williamson doesn’t contest that the tabs were expired. It is determined that a GMC truck was parked at the violation site on June 27, 2019 with expired tabs. 4 .Mitigation. Mr. Williamson had the vehicle, GMC Suburban WA plate AWK0102 relicensed on July 6, 2016. He was diagnosed with Pneumonia on 6/30/19, or he would have relicensed it immediately after receiving he violation CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 1. Authority of Examiner: The Hearing Examiner has the authority and jurisdiction to review code violations as provided in RMC 1-3-2. 2. Code Violation: The code violations identified in Finding of Fact No. 1 is quoted below and applied to this appeal via corresponding conclusions of law. Junk Vehicle or Vehicle Hulks on Private Property Regulated (RMC 6-1-3(B)): The storage, Code Enforcement Decision - 4 maintenance or retention of junk, wrecked, dismantled or an apparently inoperable vehicle, vehicle hulk, or any parts thereof, on private real property in the City is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and subject to abatement in accordance with this Chapter and RMC 1-3- 3, as now worded or hereafter amended. 3. Violation Sustained. RMC 6-1-2 defines an inoperable vehicle to include vehicles that cannot be lawfully operated upon public roads. Mr. Williamson’s GMC Suburban qualifies could not be lawfully operated upon public roads and therefore qualifies as an inoperable vehicle because its license was expired as determined in Finding of Fact No. 3. As further determined in Finding of Fact No. 3, the unlicensed GMC Suburban was stored at the violation site on June 27, 2019. Since Mr. Williams owns the violation site, he is in violation of RCW 6-1-3(B), which as quoted above provides that such vehicles are nuisances subject to abatement. 4. Mitigating Circumstances. RMC 1-3-2E(3)(f) grants the examiner discretion on the amount of fines imposed by a Finding of Violation. As determined by the Finding of Facts, the City has contacted Mr. Williamson on two prior occasions with Warnings of Code Violations. At least one of those Violations was the same violation seen here, RMC 6-1-2. As determined in the findings of fact, Mr. Williams had the GMC Suburban relicensed after he received the Finding of Violation when he was physically able to do so after having pneumonia. The Hearing Examiner takes into consideration the previous warnings of violation and Mr. Williamson’s abatement efforts for the subject violation. The $250 in fines assessed by the Finding of Violation under appeal is reduced to $200. DECISION Violation No. 1 of the June 27, 2019 Finding of Violation is sustained. The $250 fine imposed by the Finding of Violation is reduced to $200 due to Mr. Williamson’s efforts to abate the violation. Payment is due within 30 days of the issuance of this decision. Decision issued September 5, 2019. Kristen Olbrechts Hearing Examiner NOTICE OF RIGHT TO APPEAL Appeal to Superior Court. 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.