Lee's shenanigans pile up
By JOE GAMM
The Daily Astorian 2/6/2008
Clatsop County Commissioner Richard Lee finds himself in murky water today.
He's the focus of a petition for a recall election, and last week he filed a tort claim against the county - in essence, threatening to sue.
And, as the recall comes closer to fruition, other details have emerged about the way his business practices and government rules have clashed.
No fewer than five men have accepted the role of director of the county's home inspectors over the past few years ... and soon left.
Many are frustrated that Lee has not followed the rules, especially by not getting conditional use permits, known among planners as "CUPs."
As 2007 came to a close, a county employee filed a complaint against him.
In the complaint, Jennifer Bunch said that if the developer were anyone other than Lee, the county would not have allowed situations involved with his developments to "become such a mess, and would have put a stop to it long ago. We would have demanded final design plans for each development (as required by both conditional use permits) and then, if any changes were made, we would have required that new conditional use permits be submitted."
Lee and his wife, Lynda, operate a nursery, RV park and golf course in the Lewis and Clark area.
The complaint said that a problem exists when employees have concerns that their jobs are in jeopardy if they require a developer to adhere to the conditions of permits. It asked for support requiring the couple to provide official and final design plans for their RV park and golf course.
The county has asked for those plans since Lee began developing the golf course - in 2001.
In 2003, Veronica Smith, who was Clatsop County's senior planner (and now works for NorthernStar Natural Gas Co.), refunded $2,300 of $3,150 Lee had paid for rezoning and a goal exception. She instead allowed him to proceed with his development under a conditional use permit.
The goal exception would normally be required because the property is within three miles of an urban growth zone.
But even then, she asked that he provide "a good site plan map to scale."
Although time has passed, little seems to have changed.
On Oct. 17, 2007, Clatsop County sent Lee a letter stating that he must follow the state laws and county building codes, policies and procedures which are in place.
In this letter, Stewart Scarbrough, a county building inspector, discussed activities relating to Lee's RV development. Scarbrough wrote that he had recently met with Lee, Community Development Director Ed Wegner and an inspector, Mark Brien, concerning Lee obtaining permits to pour "concrete runners" for RV spaces, with the condition that a "courtesy inspection" would be provided.
But, when he conducted the inspection April 10, forms for some of the runners were placed outside the predetermined construction zone. Plumbing lines and electrical conduits had been installed without permits or inspections.
Scarbrough explained that the trouble was occurring because Lee had not provided a site plan indicating specific uses for property - in particular, the separation between the RV park and the golf course.
The letter said a "Stop-Work" order was placed on the building site, until Lee met the requirement of a final plan.
But Lee never met the requirement, which was never enforced.
"We don't have a real strong arm. We always try for cooperation," said Scarbrough, who had briefly acted as director of Clatsop County's code compliance officers.
He knew there was a lot of turnover with directors of the code enforcement personnel. So, he made an agreement in writing with county leaders that if he wasn't satisfied with the way things went, he would be allowed to step down to a lower position.
He did so within six months.
"In my resignation, I stated that my management style and the county's ethics were not compatible," he said.
Scarbrough isn't the only director of building inspectors to discover that his style (or ethics) might not be compatible with those of the county.
Several former directors have made themselves unavailable.
"You're probably trying to track down Lee stuff," offered Scarbrough's predecessor, Jim Brien, from Warrenton, when a reporter contacted him. "I was wondering when I'd get a call."
He said he arrived on the North Coast in 1985, and worked with Building and Planning in Seaside for 10 years before Wegner asked him to come to the county and help out.
Jim Brien said Lee would never do what he was asked to do.
"I went out to the RV park and everything was backwards," he said.
He said he heard Lee was doing things without permits. "I said 'From now on, you've got to submit final plans,'" Brien said.
But, he said, when he butted heads with Lee, he was suddenly replaced.
"What's going on in Clatsop County boggles my mind," he said. "... No one's going to tell Jim Brien to do something that's not right."
And something still isn't right.
As recently as Oct. 25, County Planner Jennifer Bunch sent Lee a letter demanding a final design layout, showing the golf course layout with riparian setbacks.
The letter required the Lees to provide the location of any proposed signs.
It also asked the Lees to sign deed records on properties, including a Resource Zone Disclosure Statement for the county - prohibiting landowners and successors from pursuing claims for relief from injury from farming or forest practices.
It stated that the Lees must obtain all required development and building permits and approvals prior to construction, starting with a Flood Hazard Permit for the golf course outbuilding.
Additionally, it asked for an erosion control plan when the Lees file for their development/building permit.
A deadline of Nov. 25 was given, or the county would be forced to revoke the CUP for the golf course.
It's not known whether the Lees have complied with any of the requirements county planners placed on them, but the complaint against Lee indicates that some of the most pressing issues haven't been addressed.
The complaint said the county can't issue permits because of outstanding issues with the CUP and flood hazard permitting. It also indicates that no final site plan has been submitted.
And the complaint said that it is clear that the Lees refuse to follow the laws and ordinances of Clatsop County.
In the tort claim letter, a Portland attorney representing the Lees wrote that they believed they had been singled out for special treatment by additional restrictions being placed on their developments.
County Manager Scott Derickson replied to staff in a memo the day after receiving the tort claim letter, that he expects staff to treat the Lees with no more leniency or rigorous enforcement than other developers.
By JOE GAMM
The Daily Astorian 2/6/2008
Clatsop County Commissioner Richard Lee finds himself in murky water today.
He's the focus of a petition for a recall election, and last week he filed a tort claim against the county - in essence, threatening to sue.
And, as the recall comes closer to fruition, other details have emerged about the way his business practices and government rules have clashed.
No fewer than five men have accepted the role of director of the county's home inspectors over the past few years ... and soon left.
Many are frustrated that Lee has not followed the rules, especially by not getting conditional use permits, known among planners as "CUPs."
As 2007 came to a close, a county employee filed a complaint against him.
In the complaint, Jennifer Bunch said that if the developer were anyone other than Lee, the county would not have allowed situations involved with his developments to "become such a mess, and would have put a stop to it long ago. We would have demanded final design plans for each development (as required by both conditional use permits) and then, if any changes were made, we would have required that new conditional use permits be submitted."
Lee and his wife, Lynda, operate a nursery, RV park and golf course in the Lewis and Clark area.
The complaint said that a problem exists when employees have concerns that their jobs are in jeopardy if they require a developer to adhere to the conditions of permits. It asked for support requiring the couple to provide official and final design plans for their RV park and golf course.
The county has asked for those plans since Lee began developing the golf course - in 2001.
In 2003, Veronica Smith, who was Clatsop County's senior planner (and now works for NorthernStar Natural Gas Co.), refunded $2,300 of $3,150 Lee had paid for rezoning and a goal exception. She instead allowed him to proceed with his development under a conditional use permit.
The goal exception would normally be required because the property is within three miles of an urban growth zone.
But even then, she asked that he provide "a good site plan map to scale."
Although time has passed, little seems to have changed.
On Oct. 17, 2007, Clatsop County sent Lee a letter stating that he must follow the state laws and county building codes, policies and procedures which are in place.
In this letter, Stewart Scarbrough, a county building inspector, discussed activities relating to Lee's RV development. Scarbrough wrote that he had recently met with Lee, Community Development Director Ed Wegner and an inspector, Mark Brien, concerning Lee obtaining permits to pour "concrete runners" for RV spaces, with the condition that a "courtesy inspection" would be provided.
But, when he conducted the inspection April 10, forms for some of the runners were placed outside the predetermined construction zone. Plumbing lines and electrical conduits had been installed without permits or inspections.
Scarbrough explained that the trouble was occurring because Lee had not provided a site plan indicating specific uses for property - in particular, the separation between the RV park and the golf course.
The letter said a "Stop-Work" order was placed on the building site, until Lee met the requirement of a final plan.
But Lee never met the requirement, which was never enforced.
"We don't have a real strong arm. We always try for cooperation," said Scarbrough, who had briefly acted as director of Clatsop County's code compliance officers.
He knew there was a lot of turnover with directors of the code enforcement personnel. So, he made an agreement in writing with county leaders that if he wasn't satisfied with the way things went, he would be allowed to step down to a lower position.
He did so within six months.
"In my resignation, I stated that my management style and the county's ethics were not compatible," he said.
Scarbrough isn't the only director of building inspectors to discover that his style (or ethics) might not be compatible with those of the county.
Several former directors have made themselves unavailable.
"You're probably trying to track down Lee stuff," offered Scarbrough's predecessor, Jim Brien, from Warrenton, when a reporter contacted him. "I was wondering when I'd get a call."
He said he arrived on the North Coast in 1985, and worked with Building and Planning in Seaside for 10 years before Wegner asked him to come to the county and help out.
Jim Brien said Lee would never do what he was asked to do.
"I went out to the RV park and everything was backwards," he said.
He said he heard Lee was doing things without permits. "I said 'From now on, you've got to submit final plans,'" Brien said.
But, he said, when he butted heads with Lee, he was suddenly replaced.
"What's going on in Clatsop County boggles my mind," he said. "... No one's going to tell Jim Brien to do something that's not right."
And something still isn't right.
As recently as Oct. 25, County Planner Jennifer Bunch sent Lee a letter demanding a final design layout, showing the golf course layout with riparian setbacks.
The letter required the Lees to provide the location of any proposed signs.
It also asked the Lees to sign deed records on properties, including a Resource Zone Disclosure Statement for the county - prohibiting landowners and successors from pursuing claims for relief from injury from farming or forest practices.
It stated that the Lees must obtain all required development and building permits and approvals prior to construction, starting with a Flood Hazard Permit for the golf course outbuilding.
Additionally, it asked for an erosion control plan when the Lees file for their development/building permit.
A deadline of Nov. 25 was given, or the county would be forced to revoke the CUP for the golf course.
It's not known whether the Lees have complied with any of the requirements county planners placed on them, but the complaint against Lee indicates that some of the most pressing issues haven't been addressed.
The complaint said the county can't issue permits because of outstanding issues with the CUP and flood hazard permitting. It also indicates that no final site plan has been submitted.
And the complaint said that it is clear that the Lees refuse to follow the laws and ordinances of Clatsop County.
In the tort claim letter, a Portland attorney representing the Lees wrote that they believed they had been singled out for special treatment by additional restrictions being placed on their developments.
County Manager Scott Derickson replied to staff in a memo the day after receiving the tort claim letter, that he expects staff to treat the Lees with no more leniency or rigorous enforcement than other developers.