Special master grants 90 days for building permits at Hubbs Ranch; fines set at $500 per day if not complied

Special Master Christian Waugh granted a 90-day compliance period and admitted evidence after the parties reached a stipulation resolving the building portion of a code enforcement matter tied to Hubbs Ranch and Wonderfield Farm.

The stipulation — accepted on the record in a hearing before Waugh — covers case number 202400620 and resolves allegations that several structures on the property lacked required permits. Counsel for the property’s respondents agreed not to contest the permit-related allegations and asked for 90 days to secure whatever permits or forms are necessary.

Waugh said he would not leave the agreement open-ended if new violations were discovered later: any new, separate alleged violations would have to be pursued as new cases. On the question of civil penalties, Waugh declined the county’s initial recommendation of $1,000 per day and said, “I think $500 a day will be sufficient to enforce compliance.” The order entered by the special master admitted several county exhibits documenting building conditions and inspections and clarified that the 90‑day period applies to the building-permit items discussed — electrical, solar, building additions, docks/decks and roofing as specified in the admitted exhibits.

County code compliance officer Brandon Norman presented photographs and inspection records that county staff say show unpermitted building work on the site. Norman told the hearing he had documented multiple structures and other work during inspections conducted earlier in 2024 and that county staff had been refused on-site access at times. Respondents’ counsel agreed to admission of county evidence for the building portion and asked the special master to exercise discretion on any penalty amount.

Waugh placed a temporal limit on the agreement’s scope: if county inspectors identify additional alleged violations during the 90‑day window, those items generally would not be folded into the order he entered and instead could be pursued in a separate enforcement matter. The special master also said he would review the admissible exhibits to ensure they matched the stipulation before finalizing the order.

The building-case resolution was recorded from the hearing’s evidentiary record; the order requires the respondents to obtain permits or demonstrate exempt status for the identified work within 90 days or face the $500-per-day fine.

The special master then moved on to a related land‑use case concerning the same property (separate case number), where he reserved decision and signaled he may request further briefing. That second case — about whether the property’s activities qualify as “agritourism” and whether local land‑use rules apply — remained undecided at the hearing’s close.