5718 COMMERCIAL AVE 2016-01-01 MF Import

On January 1 l, 1999 we got a letter from attorney James Jameson. He was writing in response to the 12/23/98 letter. He stated that French denied that the garage was constructed contrary to the approved plans and denied that the height was 23 feet. French claimed that the garage, to the best of her knov:ledge, was constructed according to plans ,, approved by the City and that no measurements were taken during the site visit. Jameson requested that the City provide (1) any evidence of specific work performed contrary to the approved plans, and (2) any documentation of a measurement performed by anyone frcm the City, including the method of ineasurement and its results, with all cslculations made to determine height. On January 19, 1999 you told Weight that the lower edge of the siding on the existing house was used as a reference point, that the measurement was made using a tape measure, and that the floor-to-ceiling height of each floor was taken, then combined with each floor system thickness. On February 2, 1999 a criminal complaint was filed in Everett Municipal Court charging Violation of Building Code. On Febniary 16, 1999 we received a notice of appearance from Jameson. On June ZS, 1999 a Stay of Proceedings was entered for one year. French was required to lower the height of the building in question by not less than the amount which �vould make the heisht no more than 21 feet high from average base elevation within 6 months of the date of the stay. In addition, she was to pay $200 costs to the Everctt Building Department within 6 months. On February 7, 2000 I received a letter from attorney Thomas Adams. He states that he wants to help French pursue resolution of her obligations under the Stay. A check for �200.00 was enclosed, plus a drawing prepared by Everett Builders, Inc. Adams states that he believes that the dra�ving resolves the issue relative to the height of the structure. He states that if we don't agree, we shculd provide a definitive explanation for our conclusion, including where we believe the height should be measured from. During our telephone conversation yesterday you helped me answer some of the questions I had about this case. I appreciate your assistance. If you could please also do the following: (1) Review the drawing provided by Everett Builders, Inc. and see if it would resolve the height issue. If it doesn't let me know ASAP. Whoever does the review should be aware of the issues about whether the lot is tlat or not and what is the average base elevation. (2) Have one or t�vo of your engineers visit the site to determine what is going on with the drainage issue. It would probably be best to do this at a time when Ritchie can be present. The engineers should try ro get as much s e� cific information as possible regarding what he claims is the problem. If one of French's actions has caused the problem, then your department could scek assistance from Code Compliance in eaining corrective action. I would also want to be included in the loop on the drainaee issue, particularly if it involves the location of the garage. �`�