White Salmon touts proactive code-compliance outreach after 99% voluntary compliance

Mayor Marla Keethler introduced a focused update on the city’s Code Compliance program on Nov. 5, noting the position has been filled about a year and a half and the goal was to clarify program scope and direction.

Code Compliance Officer Jenne Patterson told council the one-person program handles investigations, coordination with partner agencies, database management and community outreach. Drawing on her background in military policing, Patterson said proactive, in-person engagement is more effective than reactive enforcement and reduces escalations into formal cases.

Patterson said the program conducted roughly 225 property visits in Wyers and Main Street areas and that about 99% of contacts resulted in voluntary compliance; she said the remaining matter involves a right-of-way research question rather than refusal to cooperate. She described the workflow—courtesy notices and door hangers followed by return visits—and said most issues resolve before formal notices or hearings are necessary.

The officer highlighted partner organizations used during outreach, including the Underwood Conservation District and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and noted distribution of community resource guides (developed by Hood River Health Department and WAGAP) during visits. Patterson said code work intersects with wildfire readiness where vegetation and defensible space are concerns.

For short-term rental (STR) enforcement, Patterson cited the Granicus Host Compliance platform as essential to identifying unlicensed rentals; she said the tool’s identification accuracy is high and that without it staff would need time-consuming manual searches. She also described priorities for the coming year: updated outreach materials, a Spring Cleaning program, continued block-by-block work, wildfire-readiness events, bilingual materials, and improved reporting tools.

Councilors asked for additional data and procedural detail. Councilor Ben Giant asked how often early outreach leads to voluntary compliance versus escalation; Patterson reiterated the high voluntary rate and noted proactive work is far less time-consuming than involuntary abatement. Councilor Patty Fink asked for total case counts for 2024 and 2025, clarification on how zoning cases are categorized (including whether older fences are treated differently from new construction), and whether fall cleanup options could be advertised like spring cleanup. Patterson said she does not routinely measure fences during visits unless noncompliance is obvious and that long-standing structures require case-specific research.

Patterson also explained she is preparing the city’s first code-violation objection hearing process. She said Title 7 allows objections but lacks detail, so she is integrating hearings into the broader WSMC 2.21 framework to ensure consistency across departments, and has consulted the Municipal Research and Services Center for examples.

Mayor Keethler and Public Works Director Chris True acknowledged concerns about project-specific outreach after Spring Street construction delays and committed to more direct notifications—Voyent Alerts and door-to-door notices where appropriate. Councilors expressed interest in STR trend data as part of housing policy work and emphasized balancing safety-driven enforcement with sensitivity to housing affordability and multilingual neighborhoods.

The council did not take formal action on the Code Compliance presentation but directed staff to provide requested case data, updated STR numbers, and a proposed objection-hearing procedure integrated with city code. The city will continue to emphasize proactive outreach and coordination with partner agencies.