PORT TOWNSEND — Joe D’Amico’s Fort Discovery, Inc., has brought legal action against Jefferson County’s Department of Community Development to compel its director, Patty Charnas, to accept a permit application for processing and eventual approval or denial.
The application is for a concrete foundation permit for a classroom building to prevent further weather damage to the structure, according to the business.
The building was moved to the Tarboo Lake site in October 2017 and has been on blocks off the ground.
To prevent further damage and to save the building, D’Amico said he wants to put it on a foundation.
That requires a permit.
The building is in an area where D’Amico proposes building the Cedar Hills Recreational Facility, a shooting facility, on more than 41 acres at Tarboo Lake in Quilcene.
Neighbors last week told county commissioners they were concerned that the county had accepted a permit application for work at the proposed shooting facility.
The county has not accepted the permit, according to the legal papers filed.
According to Greg Overstreet, legal counsel for Fort Discovery, Jefferson County Code 18.40.110 (5) states: “When the project permit application is determined to be complete, the [DCD director] shall accept it and note the date of acceptance in the project filed.
“Accepting the application is not the same as approving it,” Overstreet said. “Accepting the application merely starts the process. The DCD can deny an actual permit if the law allows a denial.”
County Administrator Philip Morley addressed the issue Friday afternoon.
“We received legal paperwork and are evaluating it. We stand by our actions,” Morley said.
Overstreet said that on Thursday, he filed paperwork on behalf of his client asking Jefferson County Superior Court for a “show cause” hearing at which the DCD director would have to appear and show cause why a writ of mandamus should not be issued.
“This lawsuit is not about money; it carries a maximum penalty of $250 in attorney’s fees, for example,” he said.
Overstreet said that the lawsuit technically must be filed against the county official responsible for accepting the permit, which required naming Charnas, in her official capacity, as the defendant.
The lawsuit does not seek damages from Charnas.
On Oct. 3 two Fort Discovery employees filed a stormwater permit, the first step required toward applying for a foundation permit.
The DCD staff accepted the completed stormwater permit application, and knew that Fort Discovery soon would be applying or the foundation permit, Overstreet said.
On Oct. 11, the staff returned to seek two foundation permits, and were advised that some information was missing so the application was deemed not acceptable, Overstreet said.
So the business filed everything it had in an application of nearly 150 pages, according to Overstreet. It includes detailed site plans, floor plans, a State Environmental Protection Act checklist, foundation reconstruction plan, wetland delineation, and traffic studies. But, he said, no application was been filed to build the gun range.
On Wednesday, employees again returned to the office to file for a foundation permit for a classroom building. They met with Charnas and other DCD officials who confirmed that although the application was complete, it would not be accepted or denied at that time.
Overstreet said DCD staff wanted to wait until Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Philip Hunsucker returns from vacation this coming Tuesday.
“The law says we don’t have to wait,” Overstreet said. “The Jefferson County ordinance says the county has to accept our complete application for processing and eventual approval or dismissal.
“The DCD knew this permit application was coming and if they felt it was going to be a political problem, they could have talked with their attorney before he went on vacation.”
D’Amico said the building’s pieces are not watertight and have been exposed to the elements for almost a year.
“To prevent further rot damage and save the building, the pieces need to be reassembled and put on a foundation.
In June, 2017, Fort Discovery began the county permit applications process for Cedar Hills Recreational Facility, at Tarboo Lake, a multi-purpose site which is proposed to include shooting ranges.
In December, 2017, the Board of County Commissioners enacted a one-year moratorium on issuing commercial shooting facility permits.
D’Amico also has filed four public records lawsuits against Jefferson County in 2018.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.
