2330 MELVIN AVE 2025-01-27 - Laserfiche WebLink

• First, Mr. Juarez and Mrs. Nicasio were unaware that the improvements, including the basement improvements,were completed without permits and did not meet relevant Code sections. As is detailed in the Order, the unpermitted work was completed by the previous owner of the Property. The previous owner actively concealed the fact that he did not obtain the required permits and my clients only discovered the fraud after the City's inspection of the Property. See the Form 17 Seller's Disclosures attached as Exhibit B hereto from my clients' purchase of the Property from Thomas Shoemaker in 2015. They did not cause the violations set forth in the Order yet they are stuck with the tremendous cost of remedying them. Second, in order to submit an application for the appropriate permit(s), my clients will obviously be required to include a plan set for the remedial work that is to be completed. But the work that will be required under the 2021 IRC appears to be significantly less onerous than what would need to be completed if the work is completed according to the 2018 IRC. Accordingly, my clients desire to avoid incurring considerable cost and time in having their contractor prepare a permit application that will likely need to be completely redone in October 2023 when the 2021 Code becomes effective or if the City interprets the provisions of the 2021 Code in a manner different than our own. The Order requires my clients to remedy the violations by November 2024. Given the permit processing time frame and the amount of work that potentially needs to be completed, time is of the essence and it is necessary to obtain guidance now to ensure that my clients can meet the deadline set forth in the Order. Lastly, if my analysis of the 2021 IRC is correct, the work required to comply with applicable City Code could be as much as $200,000 less under the 2021 IRC than it would be if the 2018 IRC is applied. Per the Order and its exhibits, one of the primary areas of the Property's alleged non- compliance is that the previous owner finished the basement of the home without permits and with substandard ceiling heights. According to the City's inspection of the basement and the measurements included in the Order, the height of the ceilings of the basement's two bedrooms, bathroom, hallways, and living area do not meet the standards set forth in the 2018 IRC. 2018 IRC provides that the minimum ceiling height for the creation of habitable spaces in existing structures shall be at least 6'10". The 2021 IRC codified as WAC 51-51-4505(R4504.6)provides that alterations to existing structures that create habitable space in a basement, the ceiling height shall not be less than 6'8"and bathrooms and laundry rooms shall have a ceiling height of not less than 6'4". It is believed that if improvements are required to be made to the basement subflooring/flooring, the maximum ceiling height that can be achieved in the basement bedroom spaces is 6'7". We should be able to achieve the minimum allowed ceiling height in the remainder of the basement areas. In consideration of the other work that will be completed to bring the basement area into compliance with the Code, and that new or greater non-compliance is not The Hembree Law Firm,PLLC s{' 21 Avenue A,Suite C,Snohomish,WA.98290 11I5