Thursday, Sept. 9, 1999 | 11:34 a.m.
Fee Hike
If you build it without a permit, they will come. Enforcers from the city of North Las Vegas, that is.
City planners are cracking down on the number of contractors and homeowners who fail to get permits when building or adding to existing homes. They are also enforcing existing city ordinances, granting few variances, if any.
Donald and Cindy Knew, homeowners in North Las Vegas, admit they failed to get the necessary permits before starting to build an addition to their home, which they wanted to turn into a game room. They say friends advised them to build the structure, then apply for a permit. The consequence would be a fine by the city, but the Knews decided it was worth it, to save time.
What they didn't expect were the letters that began showing up in their mailbox from the city as they got closer to the end of construction. Letters that forbade them from continuing to build.
What came next was a battle with the city, between the property owners and enforcers of city ordinances. It pitted neighbor against neighbor. And while the game room now sits half built, the Knews remain dumbfounded that the city will not allow them to complete it.
The Knews' troubles began when they drafted plans for an addition to their home in 1995. Donald Knew, who works for Sprint telephone company, wanted to build two rooms, one that would require a variance.
A city ordinance mandates that with an enclosed structure, the rear yard setback must be 15 feet. Donald Knew insisted that in order to put a full-size pool table in one room, it would be necessary to extend the back wall of the addition to within 8 1/2 feet of the rear fence. For this he needed a 6 1/2-foot variance. Although the Knews knew of the ordinance, they did not apply for a variance before starting to build.
Registered letters from the city began arriving nine months ago, telling them to cease construction and get rid of their building materials. The Knews insist the letters came after a neighbor with a "vendetta" filed a complaint.
The city's code enforcement department has six employees and according to Mayor Mike Montandon, most of their work is generated by complaints.
When the Knews started receiving the letters, $18,000 into construction and two-thirds of the way finished, it was too late to turn back, said Cindy Knew, a bus driver for the Clark County School District.
The Knews were hoping they could remedy the problem and say they began diligently working with the city in applying for a variance.
"We could have just got on with what we were doing and finished (the addition) ... but we decided to go back and do what the city told us," Cindy Knew said.
The Knews acknowledge they made a mistake by not getting the necessary permits. But everyone makes mistakes, Cindy Knew says, and she and her husband should be allowed to finish what they started.
This past June, the Knews went before the Planning Commission with their plea. Their request for a variance was denied. The Knews appealed to the City Council Sept. 1, with more than 10 neighbors attending, some in favor, some against.
After more than an hour of heated discussion between the neighbors and council members, the appeal was denied.
The city insists that by creating and enforcing ordinances, it is protecting everyone. The city can become liable if it grants exceptions to some and not others.
"We have to protect the residents who have to live in these places, we have to protect the taxpayers by avoiding financial punishment, and we have to protect the neighborhoods," council member Stephanie Smith said last week.
"We cannot negotiate standards. We want people to know that we do have standards in North Las Vegas and we want people to comply for the benefit of the community."
Smith said it was an unfortunate dilemma that the Knews and the city faced. But her advice for future builders or contractors is to call the city to find out what permits are necessary.
"The permits will give you the standards you have to meet," she said. "If you don't pull a permit, there's no way we can tell if you're in compliance."
The 10-page application for a variance, which includes a $150 fee, usually takes seven weeks to process. Among other materials required is a letter of intent, countless copies, and a legal description of the variance.
While the Knews insist their addition wouldn't have affected anyone, Montandon disagrees, maintaining that everyone is affected when the city does not remain consistent in its decisions.
"One hundred to 300 new homes and 1,200 to 1,500 people are added to North Las Vegas every month," he said. "So the whole city is tremendously affected by these items. Hundreds of building permits are pulled every month and variances have far-reaching effects."
In past years the city has been lenient in complying with standards, Smith said. But she also said that in the last two years the city has made an effort to be more consistent.
"Two years ago I'd have said, 'Give the small person a break,' " she said. "But now I've been on this side of the table and seen lawsuit after lawsuit that we lose. Lawsuits come in and we're liable because of the mistakes and variances allowed in the past."
The Knews insist their property rights should outweigh city ordinances. They maintain that the denial was unfair, and they are being punished simply because they did not get the proper permit before building.
"I knew there are rules, and I understand that," Donald Knew said. "But when it gets to the point where people tell us we can't do this and that, you're almost afraid to change a light fixture. I live in the United States, not somewhere where it's communist."
Montandon insists that rules must apply to everyone in the city.
"It's very easy to get caught up in the emotions of these projects, but we don't live in a one-horse town," he said. "We live in a large town and we have rules that are for everybody."
Now that the plans for a game room have vanished, the Knews remain unsure of what they will do with the half-built structure.
"Our plans are, well, I can't say," Cindy Knew said last week. "I'm still too upset about it."
Her husband said they will accept the city's decision and abide by the rules. He plans to change the structure into a patio-like addition, and move back the structure's beams so they are in accordance with the ordinance.
"(The addition) would have been really beautiful," he said. "It's not like it would have taken away from the neighborhood. It would have enhanced the neighborhood."
SUN REPORTER
Jace Radke contributed to this story.
archive
