City Code Violations Regarding ADUs - Sedro Woolley Washington

[Matt Joplin]

Hello,

My name is Matt and I am a BRRRR investor in Sedro-Woolley, a small town located in Skagit County Washington. I am disputing the city right now and am being unfairly pressured regarding their perceived usage of a property of mine and they are threatening me with hefty fines if I don't dismantle a second kitchen and other components of my home. My story, even if summarized, is quite long so I will just provide some quick notes. I would be happy to provide greater detail and the actual documents if anyone is interested in looking into this further with me. I am feeling like I am in a tough spot and am getting stressed out by all of this. I am grateful for any recommendations or references you may be able to provide to help me minimize the impact to my home and family.

What I Could Use Help With:

 - Any general recommendation you may have

 - Any referrals you may have for an attorney or other professionals who could help me regarding code law.

The Property:

 -A 2200 square foot 3 bed, 3 bath single family residence located in the city limits of Sedro Woolley

 - A complete remodel was just finalized this month under permit which was obtained in 2019

 - The house was remodeled by the previous owners in 2007 where they added a second story where there is bedroom, living room, bathroom with washer and dryer, and a kitchenette with a 4 burner cook top, an over the range microwave, sink and refrigerator

 - To this date, I have not rented out the property and we currently owner occupy.

- Originally, we had planned to House Hack this property living in the lower 1600 sqft while renting the upstairs out to a tenant.  We have done this successfully before and the process was positively lifechanging.  

 - We are now looking to relocate to Anacortes Washington in less than a year's time and will not be able to rent both units if we don't owner occupy

Key Points From The Notice of Violation Received from the City

- Violation 1: "Unpermitted second unit in a portion of a single family home."  "The building has two separate dwelling units; one main unit; and a second unit upstairs that has a separate electrical meter, bathroom, cook surface, mounted (above the range type) microwave and an entrance that allows the unit to be accessed independently from the main residential unit."

- Violation 2: "Unpermitted existence of second dwelling unit on a parcel zoned Resididential-7, one single family residence per lot, one duplex per lot 9,000 sqft or greater"

 - Required Actions: 1. By 4/26/22 propose a plan to remove elements of the second dwelling unit that will eliminate the existence of the second dwelling unit.  2. By 5/12/22 remove the unpermitted improvements that constitute a second dwelling unit and remove the second electrical meter

- Alternative Action: By 4/26/22 Apply for an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) permit

Consequences

- Maximum monetary penalty for each separate violation: $1000 for the first week and $500 / Day thereafter

My Objections

- The kitchen was existing in the house when we bought it.  

 - The sellers on their disclosure form marked that permits were obtained and that final inspections were completed.  

 - The electrical previously completed for the upstairs addition was inspected and the state's stickers are intact on the electrical panels

- When I asked the city to provide me with the permits for the remodel done by the previous owners the city told me "they were having trouble locating them"

 - To the best of my  research, the city's code and International Residential Code do not limit the number of cooking provisions, entryways, bathrooms, or electrical meters, on a single family house.  

 - I do not have an ADU. By the city's definition and ADU is auxiliary and separate from the main dwelling by "detachment or a solid dividing wall."  What they are calling an ADU is simply the upstairs of my house.  Their argument is that I could build a wall or block off that space.  This is just silly...Until I have broken any rule or law...I haven't broken any rule or law...

- If we permit the house as having an ADU we will only be able to rent the ADU if we live in the house. We are hoping to move to another town in less than a year.

- If we permit an ADU we have to go on record agreeing to never use the house as a short term rental. This forever eliminates the possibility of us renting out all or a portion of the house on Airbnb, vrbo, etc.

- To permit an ADU will cost $10,000.00 in fees and an additional $98.00 per month for garbage and sewer.

- If we were to permit an ADU, we would not breakeven for 12+ months given our current market rates for rentals

- If we permit an ADU we will be on record saying we will always owner occupy the house and if code or law changes in our favor, I fear that I may not be able to rent both units.

Desired Outcome

- I want the city to remove their code violation and any fees assed from the records

- I originally wanted to rent out the upstairs of my house.  With how the city is reacting to all of this I don't think I want to now even if it is within my rights.  I am more interested in moving then renting the entire house out as a whole.  

- Permit my home as a duplex if I could.  This is wishful thinking and with how much resistance I am getting from the city already, I don't think I will even try.  Code does allow for a duplex in the zoning where my house is located.  The minimum lot size is 9000 sqft and my lot is 8712 according to the county's website.  It is possible that a professional survey might find that my lot is actually bigger.  It might also be possible to purchase the difference from one of my neighbors on paper but leave the fences in place.  

Actions Taken So far

- Tried to work with the city Planner / Building Official who is bringing these charges against me to no avail.  

- Explained myself to the city Administrator and asked for help in this situation

- Met with the city Planner / Building Official and the City Administrator together to find that they were going to take the same side.  

- Emailed the Mayor of the city who explained to me that she is aware of my case and that she and the city's attorney are siding with the city Planner / Building Official

- Asked the city Commissioner for my ward if they could help me.  I am awaiting his response.  

- Responded to the Mayor asking for the Planner and city Attorney to justify their code violation the issued based upon the fact that I cannot have an ADU since it isn't separated from the rest of my living space. I also asked them to support the claims that a single family house cannot have more than one electrical meter, cooking location, etc. I am still waiting for their reply.

- I have started looking for local real estate attorneys but I have not found one yet.   I do have a meeting setup to discuss my issues with one this Thursday. 

Thank you again for reading this and for any recommendations you can offer.  I have found this whole issue offensive and draining.  My family and I were excited to live in this home when we bought it.  We have taken an eyesore of a home and turned it into a beautiful place to raise our family.  We have fixed and lived in three other homes in the city of Sedro Woolley all but 1 of which were housed by people with criminal and drug issues.  All of our neighbors have appreciated our presence and the workmanship of our projects.  Unfortunately the stigma our city has, is still there for a reason and we are tired of being the family that raises the average in each neighborhood we have resided.  The frustrating thing about this is we exceeded all of our inspections and the house is up to current code and is now safer than it was before.  This is not an issue of loss of property, human safety, or the protection of the quality of life in Sedro Woolley.  It is an issue of ego, power, and compliance.  

Sincerely,

Matt

[Nik Moushon]

@Matt Joplin

First, you need to realize that the state of Washington (and lots of cities/counties) are cracking down on unpermitted additions and ADUs. Mainly because the STR issues and that the rising home prices are to be blamed on STRs. So you have a lot stacked against you to begin with. Regardless if you are in the right or not.

A couple things that need to be cleared up for you. Your "kitchenette" is a full blown second kitchen. Don't even both trying to call it a kitchenette to try and get around codes. Now the IRC doesnt put a restriction on second kitchens but it does put a restriction on number of units in a house. When you have a bedroom, bathroom & kitchen in a separate part of the house then you are effectively creating a second living unit. Now, is it truely separate? More on that later. 

Next, by state law, ADUs can be attached or detached. This trumps the city code. You can try arguing this but I'll get to that later. 

Next, just because it was existing when you bought it, does not mean it is legal or that it will get grandfathered in. If it wasn't properly permitted it is now your responsibility to fix it to meet code.

Next, state law currently requires that an ADU and main home be owner occupied to be able to be rented out to a full time tenant. That means you can only rent one of the units. If you dont live there you can only rent out the main house and not the ADU. It is also currently illegal to rent an ADU as a STR without being owner-occupied (this varies by city/county so check yours first). There are some proposed laws that would change the owner-occ requirement for LTR but dont bet on the STR restriction changing.

I see you have already tried to dialog with the city and they are basically all against you. So odds are that if you try to keep going in yourself you wont get anywhere. To be frank, you are not a professional that has experience with building or building codes/zoning (the vast majority of people arent) so even if you present codes correctly they arent going to take you seriously. You are going to need to get a professional to help you with you case. I would actually go to an architect first, over a lawyer. Not only are they going to have expert opinions on the local codes, they can help navigate with the city and help this get worked out. If you go in with a lawyer they will get defensive right off the bat.  Save the lawyer for when you actually have to take them to court. As I see it here are your options (with an architect first):

1 - You can try to present your case that the upstairs second unit (what they are calling a second unit) is not separated from the rest of the house and is just an extension of the main. That there is no intentions of and no current way to separate the second unit. BUT the fact that you have already rented this out (or were wanting to) proves that this is, and was your intention to, treat this as a second unit. This will be hard pressed to pass muster. 
2 - You can try to make your home a duplex. I dont know the layout of your home but 'usually' converting to a duplex is not that difficult. Your hurdle is the lot size requirement. This would require a variant though. It is possible but would take time and effort and could still be rejected. I think your best bet here is to prove that the addition/remodel was permitted. This would stop them from requiring you to remove the kitchen but there would still be restrictions on renting it (either STR or LT). But as soon as they cant make you remove it, I would think, they would work with you to make it compliant. 
3 - Making it a legal ADU. First, this would not require much work. You do not have to have separate utility connections and meters for an ADU, unless the city specifically requires it by code...most dont. Duplexes aren't required to have separate connections and meters...and traditionally they havent. Again, the city could require it but that doesnt make much sense to me. This does come with the rent restrictions that I mentioned above. But it does give it extra resale value. I would at least do this so if you cant do what you wanted to you can at least sell it and not have any issues coming back to you later. 
4 - Remove the second kitchen and turn it into a true kitchenette or wet bar. Now, removing it all would be the easiest route with the city. Labeling it a kitchenette or wet bar is another route, and legally you could do it, but odds are you will have a hell of a time getting the city to buy off. Even with an architect on board. I've just seen a lot of push back, even to this, even though they have to legal standing. The cities get to do as they please until they get sued. This would at least allow you to rent out the entire house as either a STR or LTR. 

5 - Getting a lawyer and suing the city. This is obviously a last resort and a very expensive option. The reason cities have become so authoritarian is because they know the average person doesnt have the money to fight them in court. You will more than likely have to go through an architect first and have your options, that have been considered legal and viable options, that meet the code and presented by a profession still get rejected before a lawyer is going to have the ability to see that you have a reasonable case against the city. There might be other requirements before going to court too....like going through several appeals processes. Which could take a very very very long time to go through.