Commissioner working to rectify permit violation

COEUR d'ALENE — Fifty-two days after being notified by Kootenai County that he needs to apply for a building permit for the home he's been living in since 2006, county Commissioner David Stewart remains working on the application to come into compliance.

Stewart does not have a proper building permit and occupancy certificate for his Coeur d'Alene-area home that was permitted as a pole building.

"My wife and I have diligently been working with David Callahan and Bob Ankersmit with Kootenai County Community Development to resolve any minor issues they may have with our residence," Stewart wrote in an email to The Press. "… we have been able to provide most of the permits and signoff sheets by local and state inspectors from 2005. We look forward to resolving this issue in the near future."

Callahan, the county's community development director, said the county would have normally recorded the violation by now, but that step has been delayed with Stewart on vacation.

"Consequently, we will refrain from recording the notice until June 30," Callahan wrote in an email to Stewart last week.

Callahan said Stewart is being treated like any other person would be who needs to come into compliance with county building regulations.

"We try as best as we can to get people to do the right thing," Callahan said. "When it's indicated to us that they are making a good-faith effort to do the right thing, we try to be helpful and cooperative. That's true with anybody we deal with."

If a violation is recorded, the letter is filed with county land records and financial transactions with the property are blocked until the matter is resolved.

"This means it shows up on title work if the land is offered for sale or if the owner wants to refinance," Callahan said of recorded violations. "Most mortgage companies will refuse to refinance and most buyers will refuse to purchase property when there are outstanding code violations, so while it can take some time, the notice ultimately brings violations into compliance.

The violation notice is similar to but different from a lien, Callahan said.

"A lien affects a property until a debt owed by the current owner is discharged," he said. "A notice of violation keeps the property from transferring until compliance with the code is achieved."

Stewart, who took office in 2015, was defeated by fellow Republican Chris Fillios in the May 17 primary.

Callahan said Stewart, who spent much of his career as a home builder, has communicated with Community Development during the process and has told the department he found the electrical and plumbing permits from the state that will be included in the application packet.

Callahan said it takes time to apply for a building permit because engineering drawings and other details need to be submitted with the packet.

"Mr. Stewart has stayed in contact verbally and by email stating he is working with an engineer and a heating, venting and air conditioning contractor," Callahan said.

County commission chairman Dan Green said he's pleased Stewart intends to apply for a building permit soon.

"I'm glad that he's pursuing the permit process," Green said. "The rules apply to everybody equally."

Stewart has said he didn't intentionally try to cheat the system.

Callahan said the building violation needs to be rectified because it could be a safety issue for the Stewarts and their neighbors if the structural engineering isn't sufficient.

"It's not a minor concern at this point because I have no way of knowing the home is actually safe," he said. "Imagine the scenario of high winds and the structure comes apart. That's an extraordinary severe case, but, as we know, these things happen. I wouldn't see this as being insignificant, but at the same time it's not altogether uncommon either."

Stewart was assessed — and paid taxes on — the pole barn on the property between 2006 and 2013, not a home. It wasn't until the 2014 taxes due in 2015 — the year Stewart took office — that the building was assessed as a home rather than a pole building.

The reassessment changed Stewart's tax bill from $1,564.98 for the 2013 tax year to $2,741.04 for 2014.

Since Stewart didn't have a homeowners exemption from 2006 to 2013, he earlier told The Press the county may owe money rather than him owing any back taxes.

Green said county leaders are still trying to determine if Stewart owes any back taxes and how much, but declined to comment further on that aspect of the violation.

"If people owe taxes, the law applies to everybody," Green said. "If taxes are due, they should pay them."