Hearing examiner declines to rule on permit validity

By Jack Kintner

A decision by Blaine’s hearing examiner pro-tem will likely let the Seascape condominium project building permit stand as originally approved last fall.

Michael Bobbink announced he would not determine the validity of Joel Douglas’ building permit for his nearly completed development on Peace Portal Drive in Blaine. The permit had originally been questioned by city officials as a part of their appeal of Bobbink’s earlier decision affirming the validity of two stop work orders the city issued last fall on the project.

In the same written decision, Bobbink determined that there were irregularities in the way the permit was issued last fall, and the city contended that because of this the permit should be declared invalid.
Bobbink initially agreed with the city in an April 5 decision, but Douglas’ attorney William Pardee asked for time to respond. On April 13 Bobbink issued a subsequent decision that once again affirmed the stop work orders but also said that on reconsideration he determined that the matter of the building permit’s validity lay outside the scope of the original question on the stop work orders and would not be addressed.

On April 10 Douglas appealed Bobbink’s decision on the stop work orders to the Blaine city council, and has also submitted $4 million in claims he said resulted from damage caused by the stop work orders to his building.

“We’re going to probably end up in Superior Court over this,” Douglas said.