The city of Oak Harbor boarded up a house and asked the residents to leave last month after residents were seen dumping sewage into the city’s stormwater system, according to court documents.
On March 29, the city filed a complaint for abatement of public nuisance in Island County Superior Court against William Allman, who was living at the house on Northeast Fourth Avenue, as well as the homeowner and other tenants. The complaint asks the judge for an order of abatement requiring the removal of health and safety hazards or, if the defendants fail to act, a warrant of abatement allowing the city to fix immediate problems.
The court filing explains that the city’s investigation began with a citizen’s Jan. 2 complaint about garbage in the yard of the property in question. It was the third such complaint related to the property that the city received since 2019.
The next day, city staff inspected the property, confirmed that trash was present and sent a letter to the property owner, informing him that he needed to clean the property. Allman, who identified himself as the owner’s grandson, told city officials that he would address the garbage, but the property remained out of compliance after many subsequent communications, the city’s complaint states.
In February, the city confirmed that the property didn’t have water or trash service and that the accounts were delinquent.
On March 8, the state Department of Ecology filed an environmental incident report form about the property. The report states that the city alerted the agency to the fact that the house has no water and that the residents had been dumping their sewage into a catch basin at a nearby intersection. The city cleaned out two catch basins with a vactor truck, the report states.
Catch basins are part of the city’s stormwater system, which empties into the bay largely untreated.
The next day, the city posted a notice on the property stating that it was uninhabitable due to the lack of water, the prevalence of rubbish and debris, a lack of compliance with building codes and the illicit discharge of sewage.
On March 21, the city concluded that the sewage dumping and lack of water created an imminent health and safety hazard. The city “summarily abated” the property by boarding up the dwelling and asking all the people present to leave, according to court documents.
Island County Public Health reported that staff was on site “to verify the situation in the event a Health Officer order of abatement was needed.” Residents were asked to contact Public Health for vouchers to help with disposal fees at the dump.
The city’s complaint indicates that Allman is also facing a charge in a criminal case. He was charged in Island County Superior Court Feb. 6 with assault in the second degree, a domestic violence crime.
A deputy’s report on the 2021 case states that a woman came home to find Allman, her brother-in-law, lying on her bed upside-down and wearing only underwear. She left in a car and came back with other people, upsetting him. He allegedly tackled her and then punched her in the face, breaking her nose, the report states.
A judge ordered a $5,000 bench warrant for his arrest on March 13 because he wasn’t present for arraignment. He appeared in court March 29 and a judge quashed the warrant.
