Garage dispute heating up

By JOHN STANG

The Daily Inter Lake

It's a 400-square-foot bedroom built on top of a Kalispell garage a few feet from the Buffalo Hill golf course.

That unfinished bedroom has sparked tension between its owner and the city government, neighborhood rumblings, conflicting legal theories, several peripheral issues in local governance, and negotiations that many worry will create potential side effects.

On Monday, the Kalispell City Council listened to the issue's pros and cons.

And then it delayed taking any action until Dec. 4 - hoping that the owner, Dan Abbott, and the city staff will work out a compromise.

Two fundamental issues are intertwined:

. Abbott is seeking a 15-foot wide easement onto the neighboring Buffalo Hill Golf Course - an easement needed to enable his new second-story bedroom on top of his garage to meet Kalispell's zoning laws. Recently, a municipal judge fined Abbott $1,500 because the second story broke Kalispell's zoning law, also ruling that the violation needed to be fixed.

. City officials are unhappy that the second-story room has not been inspected to see if it complies with city building codes.

On Monday, several council members wanted to link the second-floor passing the city's building inspections as a condition for the council approving the sale of a 15-foot-wide easement on the city-owned golf course to Abbott.

Abbott declined Monday to say if that proposed settlement is acceptable, saying he will negotiate that issue with the city.

His family moved to Kalispell two years ago, buying the 1,800-square-foot house at 86 Juniper Bend Drive, a few minutes drive from Kalispell Regional Medical Center where he is an anesthesiologist.

The house has a detached garage. The Abbotts had a contractor build the second-floor bedroom on top of the garage and connect it to the second floor of the main house. In an interview several days ago, Abbott declined to name the contractor or say how much the addition cost.

Abbott said he deferred to the contractor's expertise in obtaining inspections and permits. So far, only a state electrical inspection has been conducted and passed. No city inspections have been conducted. Abbott said he wants to comply with all appropriate city codes.

However, an unknown factor is whether the second floor can be adequately inspected without tearing apart a significant portion of the structure.

This issue has festered in recent City Council meetings, with many of Abbott's neighbors taking his side, saying he made an honest mistake and that the city staff was being "draconian" in clamping down on him. Forty-four people, mostly from his neighborhood, signed letters - most of them form letters - in support of Abbott.

Meanwhile, the city staff and

some council members contended in recent weeks that Abbott is seeking exceptions to Kalispell's laws and regulations that other home builders and owners must obey.

There is a strong undercurrent of personal tension - beyond debating dry city-code matters - between the two sides. Each side is defending Abbott's and the city planning department's integrity against various remarks apparently made privately and innuendoes made publicly.

At Monday's public hearing, Abbott and seven others - mostly neighbors - supported the city selling an easement to Abbott. Four representatives of Buffalo Hill Golf Club and the Kalispell Golf Association opposed the easement proposal.

Issues surfacing Monday included:

. Would selling an easement to Abbott set a precedent that the city would be stuck with in future similar situations?

. How would the resolution of this matter affect other previous setback decisions made by the city government?

. Does a second-story bedroom over Abbott's garage actually harm Kalispell in any tangible way? Council members Bob Hafferman and Hank Olson voiced that question. Many of Abbot's neighbors contended the second floor doesn't harm the neighborhood.

. Can the city legally make the easement sale contingent on the second floor passing Kalispell building inspections?

. Isn't this dispute really the responsibility of the city's Board of Adjustment?

City Manager Jim Patrick said Abbott had the choice to take the matter to the City Council or Board of Adjustment. He contended Abbott's case would have a better chance before the council because the Board of Adjustment grants variances in cases beyond the homeowner's control. Patrick said Abbott had control over the construction.

. No one presented any evidence that Abbott tried to deliberately circumvent the city's laws.

. Should the lack of city building inspections be the deal-breaker in any council decision? Mayor Pam Kennedy voiced concern about how well the garage's foundation would hold up under the weight of a second story.

. Shouldn't Abbott take legal action against his contractor to recover the potential cost of tearing apart the addition for inspection and then rebuilding it?

. Can the city sell an easement to Abbott from land that it already leases to the Buffalo Hill Golf Club?

. Some homes along the golf course have fences between them and the course; others don't.

Abbott said one golf course official gave him permission to remove the fence next to his property; then another official countermanded that permission after the fence was moved. Then the golf course said he did not have to reinstall the fence. People from all sides in this dispute wondered whether this should be addressed in the overall decision-making.

Reporter John Stang may be reached at 758-4429 or by e-mail at jstang@dailyinterlake.com