Almost exactly one year after entering into an agreement with the City of Ferndale, owners and builders of the “clock tower,” Artur and Margaret Rojsza, found themselves sitting in court again defending construction of their residence.
The city and Rojszas have been in and out of court for several years now. The city has alleged the Rojszas were building and remodeling without a permit and after receiving a permit they failed to conform to its requirements. Rojszas allege the city has been treating them unfairly especially after their son ran for mayor. All that was to be put aside to enable construction to go forward last February when everyone agreed to withdraw all lawsuits and start over.
The terms of the February 2015 settlement agreement required accomplishing several construction and landscaping benchmarks by mutually agreed upon deadlines. But in November the City filed documents with the court pointing out how the Rojszas had not met an October 31st deadline and had incorporated materials in the construction which were not in conformance with code and/or not what was in the approved plans Rojszas had submitted to the city.
The two sides met in court last Friday, February 12th regarding the Rojszas’ residence at 2147 Main Street. The city asked the court to do many things, including
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Click for more information- require Rojszas to remove unapproved materials and in some cases replace using materials approved via plans Rojszas had submitted to the city in order to obtain their building permit.
- to require a revised landscaping plan and a new deadline to install landscaping.
- a 6-foot fence be required on all sides of the property, except for 20 feet along the front.
- impose a $10,000 fine, pointing to the hundreds of hours of staff time and legal expenses the city has spent being far beyond the amount being asked.
After hearing both sides the court agreed with the city that remedies were needed regarding unapproved materials and incomplete work. The court held off making a decision regarding a fine, the landscaping and the fencing being requested.
According to court documents, the Rojszas will have 90 days (until mid-May) to either obtain variances from the city or finish construction of the exterior as per the Rojszas’ previously submitted plans and the settlement agreement.
This includes
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Click for more information- Removing unapproved building materials from the exterior of the structure including
- 4×4 mirror, mirror-like or glass panels
- Tyvek sheeting that had been painted
- Linoleum, linoleum-like or plastic sheeting material
- Burlap or burlap-like material
The Rojszas also have 60 days to
- Side all exposed exterior areas as per the approved building plan
- Complete installing roof coverings including a real copper roof on the clock tower portion
- Reinstall home wrap sheeting on exposed exterior areas
- Remove all windows not included in the approved building plan
- Remove brick or brick veneer on the clock tower and replace as per the approved building plan
- Cover all exterior elevations except the clock tower with cedar shingle siding and/or grey painted siding matching existing siding
The court also ordered, per the city’s request, all equipment, machinery and building materials be removed from the front and side yards, with the exception of the Rojszas’ vehicles, within 30 days. In addition, all “tent” structures are to be removed from the property.
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Click for more informationWithin 90 days of the ruling, a third-party inspector is to conduct an inspection to determine compliance with the court’s ruling. If anything is not in compliance, the Rojszas will have an additional 30 days to make final changes. If the property still isn’t in compliance their building permit will be permanently revoked or the City can assess $200 per day penalties until it is in compliance.
Also by 90 days of the ruling, the Rojszas’ structural engineer is to provide another assessment of the structural integrity of the residence.