March 10, 2010

County acts on illegal dwelling

By Keri Brenner
The Chronicle

     For the second time in three months, Wasco County invoked a strong enforcement action on an illegal dwelling in the forest zone.
     Wasco County Commissioners, acting in their role as code compliance hearings officers, voted unanimously last week to record a violation note on the deed for a property off Ketchum Road.
     Keith Cleveland, Wasco County code compliance officer, said the property, owned by three groups of people under the name Bridewill Properties LLC, has an illegal 30-by-30-foot cabin on it.
     That is in violation of a county code rule that prohibits dwellings or trailers to remain on a property in the forest zone for a total of more than 60 days in any one year. Cleveland said the cabin did not have any utilities hooked up to it or a wood stove, but it was still in violation because it was a permanent structure.
     “You can have a temporary structure in the forest zone,” Cleveland said. “You can pull a trailer or an RV in for a few weeks — but you need to pull it off after that.”
People who leave their trailers or RVs parked on the land risk violation of the ordinance.
     “You can’t just leave it there for more than 60 days total, or more than 30 days in any six-month period,” Cleveland added. “After that, it becomes a dwelling.”
     Bruce Williams, of Southeast Powell Boulevard in Portland, was listed as a principal for Bridewill Properties in violation notices released to the public last week by Wasco County. Williams could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
Cleveland said he had been sending increasingly stronger violation notices to Williams monthly since October.
     If there is no compliance after the current enforcement action, Bridewill Properties could be assessed fines up to the value of the structure or have a lien placed on the property, Cleveland said.
     Last week’s code enforcement action was the second time the county voted to record a violation notice on a property deed under the eight-month-old Wasco County code compliance and nuisance abatement ordinance
     In December, county commissioners approved the first enforcement action under the ordinance for an illegal dwelling in the forest zone on a property owned by Terrie and Robert Bryce of Oregon City.
     Cleveland said he is monitoring up to 20 other illegal dwellings and structures in both forest zones and agricultural zones. He said permits can be issued for structures in some cases, but property owners have to be willing to comply with a rigorous process to make their structures legal, Cleveland said.