Comments on: Pierce County finds 3,209 illegal structures

By: qwert123

qwert123 — Mon, 10 May 2010 02:54:50 +0000

Please please – call/write the Pierce County Counsil. The waste of money invovled in this “project” is so much…the counsil works FOR YOU (if you live in PC). You can remain anonymous if you’d like, but let your voice be heard to someone who can help change things.
Address: 930 Tacoma Ave. S.,
Room 1046 (10th floor of the County-City Building)
Tacoma, WA 98402 -2176
Phone: (253) 798-7777
FAX: (253) 798-7509
Toll Free in WA: (800) 992-2456

By: RegisteringFool

RegisteringFool — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:23:44 +0000

Anybody who thinks this is not a revenue generating ploy needs to have their head examined.

By: seattle_sk8r

seattle_sk8r — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:15:50 +0000

If it weren’t so difficult to GET a permit, and if the cost of the permit was reasonable, and if permits were granted in a reasonable amount of time, people would be much more apt to get one. The process is broken and needs major overhaul.

We built a house a few years back in PC. We found that it took us over half as long to get permits (from application to permit granted) as to actually build the house. As the General Contractor for the house, I spent about the same amount of time (wasted) at the permit office as I spent finding and hiring architects and subcontractors combined.

My parents built a larger house in a different state and paid only about half as much for their permit (all parts of the permitting were included in one permit, one price). We paid (if I recall correctly) 13 or 14 different PC departments for separate permits, for everything from wetlands to insulation to final. I will say it again: the process is broken and needs major overhaul!

Also, if I am correct, I believe any structure under 100 sq. ft. does not need a permit.

By: BigBlockChev

BigBlockChev — Tue, 04 May 2010 05:51:31 +0000

I can understand the 18 actual structures, but sheds are a joke. We need to vote these people out of office that sic these bureaucrats on people just to get a few bucks. If you could actually get a permit for a woodshed for a few bucks and without having to hire a wetlands engineer, structural engineer, architect and do a soils/tree/wildlife report people would probably be glad to do so…

The county should have said, gee, we only found 18 people that were openly flaunting the law but most people were in compliance.

BTW, these aren’t ILLEGAL sheds. They are simply UNDOCUMENTED! The people that built them were just working hard trying to supporttheir families. This is a RACIST program against the rural people of the county! We need to hold a rally!

By: etfm

etfm — Tue, 04 May 2010 04:53:55 +0000

This is actually a good thing. I attended PLU and was at the party where the aforementioned deck from the article collapsed. Guess what? When minimum standards are not enforced, the potential for these types of accidents to occur goes up. I also currently work in the building trade. I can tell you first hand that many home owners, and especially rental property owners are cheap and often only care about the aesthetic value of their property and have no concerns about safety whatsoever. I have seen many times where they overspend and then try to get the GC/laborers to do things that would not pass inspection but would save them money. Inspections instill a sense of responsibility in the builders and prevent things like decks being erected where cheap home/property owners decide to use 3″ deck screws instead of lag screws to attach a structure to the house on order to save a few bucks. These home/property owners often employ either inexperienced kids (the PLU deck was built by inexperienced and unsupervised college labor) or undocumented labor ( I have personally seen this on many sites). Get a permit if you want to get work done on your property. Like I said, I work in the building industry and while there may be certain aspects of the building codes that I don’t always agree with, the bottom line is that these regulations are ultimately good for the people who reside/work/occupy these structures. They are also good for the buyers who end up with these properties who buy/reside in them in good faith believing that they are safe structures.

By: eflester

eflester — Tue, 04 May 2010 03:30:23 +0000

Why would anyone think that $107,000 in fees is a significant amount of money — significant enough to motivate Pierce County to enforce codes that (assuming the motive is financial) they otherwise wouldn’t enforce? How much is your house worth?

Yes, PC has been for many years a place of scofflaw construction practices. Yes, modern construction practice is often cheap, quick, and substandard. Yes, there probably is some corruption. Let’s not move backward, but instead demand stricter code enforcement and the adoption of meaningful standards.

By: summit98446

summit98446 — Tue, 04 May 2010 03:13:23 +0000

$107,000 for privacy. Scalia would think the County paid too much.

By: uratroll

uratroll — Tue, 04 May 2010 02:15:23 +0000

Permits for inflatable swimming pools, permits for the tarp covered carports that you can buy at Costco, permits for this, and permits for that. This is all about the M-O-N-E-Y, nothing more, nothing less. All under the guise of “safety”. When there is a $310,000 “revenue target”, what in the heck else could it be about? Money, money, money, and these people are creative experts at seperating you from yours. No legal way to do it? We’ll just make a law, or ordinance, to make it legal. Done. The bureaucracy of these departments makes it so difficult and so expensive that it is almost criminal. Why isn’t it? Laws and ordinances. If the process were privatized it would be many times more efficient, less BS, less bureaucracy, less arrogance, and would only be a fraction of the cost. It would be nice if the people in the building/planning department remebered that they work for the people that are at their counter, not the other way around. People might be happier to stand in a line where they’re appreciated as customers.

By: bifdak

bifdak — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:50:35 +0000

pierce county, and edgewood have ignored an illegal apartment building/drug house on west valley for years. a lot of folks do not wonder why the drugs house remained open for years and years. and they dont wonder why the city county closed thier eyes to all the “stuff” that has gone on there along with the dope. its about money. its about a local cartel. its about keeping things quiet.

By: the3rdpigshouse

the3rdpigshouse — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:49:53 +0000

WOW!!! I’ll bet they will expend an equal effort trying to identify illegal immigrants in Pierce County – NOT!!!!!!!