Совет города Порт-Товенд согласился списать штрафы на сумму более $120 000 в обмен на ремонт жилья и сохранение доступности

Port Townsend city council agreed to waive more than $120,000 in code enforcement penalties against the owner of an affordable housing complex Aug. 3 in exchange for correcting safety and maintenance violations and commitments to keeping the property affordable. The settlement involves Nor’West Village, an income-restricted apartment complex at 1921 Sherman St., where city officials said an investigation substantiated complaints of public nuisance and life-safety code violations. Those violations ultimately resulted in more than $125,000 in penalties for continued noncompliance. “We’ve clearly failed in our mission by allowing these properties to deteriorate to the conditions they are,” Executive Director of Catholic Charities Jonathan Mallahan said. Mallahan said a third party had managed the property and that Catholic Charities intends to be more involved moving forward. “We are taking a more active role in the management moving forward, investing to make sure this reflects the human dignity of the residents there,” he said. City staff said the owner is making about $175,000 in improvements, including a new roof, as part of the efforts to bring the property into compliance. The city’s code enforcement began after complaints about conditions at Nor’West Village over the past couple of years. Code Compliance Officer KT LaBadie investigated the complaints and found them substantiated, according to city staff. The city issued a request for voluntary compliance, but when the violations were not corrected, it issued formal notices and orders with daily penalties for continued noncompliance, eventually totaling more than $125,000. The agreement comes as Nor’west Village is being positioned for sale. Tenants were notified April 20 that the owner had requested to pay off a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan, triggering a mandatory 180-day period during which the property must be offered for sale to an eligible nonprofit or public housing authority willing to maintain its affordability. If the owner does not identify one during that period, they may sell the property without the existing affordability restrictions in mid-October. The agreement also includes a three-year affordability requirement, which drew questions from Councilmember David Faber about whether the period was long enough. “We proposed the three-year period because it relates back to the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program,” Mallahan said. “That program invests about $30,000 per year of affordability.” He said the three-year requirement should not be interpreted as Catholic Charities’ intended endpoint for affordable housing at Nor’West Village. Mallahan said the organization has no intention of allowing the property to become market-rate housing and would sell it only to a party willing to maintain its affordability over the long term. “We will not choose a path forward that converts these to market-rate housing,” he said. Faber said he would support the agreement but remains concerned about relying on intentions. “I’m going to vote in favor of this. Because I’m always concerned when the intentions are not necessarily directly lined up. I understand the reasoning, and so I will be on the lookout, for sure, that we aren’t being foolish in making this decision,” he said. Discussions began with the city in July to resolve the outstanding code violations, but the city manager’s authority to settle penalties is limited to $75,000, and waiving the remaining balance would require approval from city council. Under the settlement, the property owner will reimburse the city $5,000 for staff costs. The money will go into an abatement fund the city can use to address unsafe conditions elsewhere in Port Townsend through future enforcement actions. “This could help us to ensure people remain safely housed, and we’ve used city funds before to abate severe hoarding conditions,” Planning and Community Development Director Emma Bolin said. Before the vote, Mayor Amy Howard said any decisions should remain focused on the residents currently living at Nor’West Village and the conditions the settlement is intended to address. “The safety and dignity of people who live in the affordable housing is paramount,” Howard said. “And I hear your commitment to that moving forward.” The council approved the settlement without opposition.