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Goldendale building official reports steady permits; code enforcement work and several demolition, nuisance and RV cases advancing
Summary
Building Official Robert Thompson told the Goldendale City Council the building department issued 44 permits year-to-date with $13,840 in revenue, and flagged 31 active code-enforcement cases including abandoned and burned properties as well as RV and vehicle issues.
Robert Thompson, Goldendale’s building official, updated the City Council on building activity and code enforcement. He said the building department had issued 44 permits year-to-date, including 18 building permits (transcript: “44 permits, 18 billing permits”), one demolition permit and several mechanical and plumbing permits, producing about $13,840 in revenue.
Thompson said the department expects four to five new single-family dwellings to start in the near term and that plans for a new football stadium — described as a larger project that would include a field, restrooms and parking — are on his desk; he estimated the stadium as a roughly $10,000,000 project pending bids.
On code enforcement, Thompson reported 31 active cases this year, including grass/weeds, vehicles, recreational vehicles and other nuisance matters. He described work to secure compliance through letters, citizen-review-board processes and the potential use of liens and abatement in some cases where property owners have not remedied violations after notice. Thompson said the department sent courtesy GRAMA letters in April asking owners of vacant lots to mow grass ahead of the top-of-year growth period.
Councilmembers and staff discussed specific enforcement matters Thompson flagged: an accumulation of vehicles on Brook Street, an abandoned house on East Broadway that has been vacant for years, burned structures on Railroad and East Main and a motorhome parked on Grama Street. Thompson said one burned property has a prospective owner seeking to obtain a demo permit and a dumpster once funds (for example, a tax refund) become available; staff said they had not confirmed the owner’s timeline and would continue to monitor and enforce as needed.
Thompson said one motorhome case involved an owner claiming a “caretaker” exception; the matter was pulled from the citizen-review-board calendar pending documentation needed to meet the code’s caretaker criteria. Thompson said a similar RV/caretaker request had been denied previously in the city and that the city intends to follow its code criteria.
Councilmembers pressed for repeated attention to problem properties and asked for coordination with the city attorney where liens or abatements may be necessary. Several councilmembers emphasized consistency in applying the code and the need to provide owners opportunities to comply while proceeding to legal remedies when compliance is not achieved.
Public comment raised a related parking and street-maintenance complaint in the West Broadway area; councilmembers directed that the public-works committee meet to review West Broadway parking and that staff provide public notice of the committee meeting.
