After Oak Harbor Mayor Ronnie Wright received a notice of violation for building a fence over a foot above city code limits, he said he took immediate steps to fix the problem.
Now that fixing the fence has been delayed to March and the code is set to be reviewed by the city council this month, Wright’s neighbor feels the mayor is abusing his power by changing the code as opposed to fixing his fence. Destry McKenzie complained about the issue once again at a recent council meeting.
City Administrator Sabrina Combs said that the city followed a normal code compliance process.
On Oct. 31, Wright received a notice of violation regarding his fence. According to the city website, the inspector is supposed to give him 10 days to fix the problem. If the violator has not fixed the problem in 10 days, a notice of violation will be sent with another 10-day deadline. If this is ignored, the violator is guilty of a misdemeanor with a penalty of $250.
Each day of violation is a separate offense. Intentional refusal to comply is punished with imprisonment of 90 days, a $1,000 fine or both.
Combs described a different process that she said the city follows instead, which involves working with the individual to get them to comply while curtailing the penalties listed on the website. The goal is to get residents into compliance with the city code, she said, even if it takes months to resolve.
Island County follows a similar process. Even when people are fined for county code violations, they rarely pay if they end up fixing the problem.
Code compliance officer Ray Heltsley did not respond to a request for comment.
In this case, Combs said Wright sought an extension to March to repair the fence because the weather would be better then, and staff agreed.
At a recent city council meeting, Wright’s neighbor, McKenzie, pointed out that the first responsibility listed on the attorney page on the city website is code enforcement.
“This is not what leaders do,” McKenzie said. “He’s abusing his position of authority to benefit himself. He cares nothing about the people of Oak Harbor.”
Oak Harbor’s fence height policy is scheduled to come to the city council in a workshop in January, which McKenzie argues is the true reason for the delay of fixing the fence.
“Code is code, regardless who violates,” he said. “What makes Mr. Wright different than the rest of us taxpayers?”
Combs did not directly answer if the change in the timeline for fixing Wright’s fence was related to the policy being reviewed by the city council.
She offered this via email: “Elected officials’ dual roles as residents and elected officials can create opportunities for process improvements or discussion for policy changes.”
