2103 VIRGINIA AVE 2020-04-02 - Laserfiche WebLink

, ARCHITECTURE STUDIO or-RETT ‘ 1201 COLOY AVENUE-EVERETT WA 99201 200.931.0990 GARIN@ARCRSTUDIOEVERETT.COM approved prior to our first scheduled inspection. He also stated that any new work we performed without approved drawings would be at our own risk,referencing inferior work that did not meet current code. I then spoke with Kembra,who I had been working with on our Non-Conforming Building application,and asked if the replacement of the exterior walls would cause problems with our NCB or in any other regard to Land Use issues. She looked through the municipal code and it was determined that the proposed action would not add to the nonconformity so she stated that there were no issues related to Land Use. Whether correctly or incorrectly,we assumed that we were okay to proceed with the demolition of the existing exterior walls,not knowing that there were Riverside Historic Preservation issues associated with this work. The exterior walls were taken down August 15th. A few days later the contractor was working on site and was approached by two building inspectors (names not known)who began to hint at the issues that led to the situation we now find ourselves in. I'm not exactly sure how things developed within the City of Everett that led to the meeting on August 22nd,but at that meeting the full breadth of the violations and penalties were shared with me. During this meeting it was obvious that we had made a huge error,one that we acknowledge and have to take full responsibility for,but the tone of the conversation insinuated that we had maliciously deviated from the scope of the permit with an intent to deceive. Whether or not that is true,that is how I perceived it. When I offered my side of the story at that meeting my points were quickly dismissed and was told that I must have miscommunicated our intent to replace all exterior walls,which I did not. Jeff and Kembra,both at the meeting were never asked to respond to my account of the situation. My comments were merely dismissed and it did not seem prudent to argue that point at the time. I would like for you to know that it has never been our intent to deviate from the scope of work associated with the permit or to cover up or hide work from the City. All along we have respected the process and sought to work in cooperation with both the Building and Land Use departments. Apologetically,I failed to investigate potential Historic Preservation issues associated with the proposed demolition,but I also was not informed of this as a potential issue when I sought guidance at the City. We acted in accordance with the direction/input that we received. We are all working to rectify the situation and to move this project forward. The owner is committed to full build of a new house that matches the existing,as shown in the current permit set. We remain committed to this goal. We are also committed to working with Jeff and Kembra,who I have a great working relationship with. I do believe that we all make mistakes and that this was one shared mistake by all parties,but not one that we cannot work through. My goal in writing this letter was to offer the full account of the situation from our side and to reaffirm our commitment to the ongoing process and future construction of a residence at 2103 Virginia Avenue. I would also like to make a formal request that this account be taken into consideration when penalties,in the form of fees,are assessed. Because I believe that there is shared responsibility in the actions that led to 1where we are today,my hope is that penalty fees to owner can be avoided as long as we remain committed ��2 i