Special Magistrate Stephanie Marchman ordered the owner of a fire-damaged house to obtain a permit within 30 days to either demolish or rebuild the property and set subsequent deadlines for demolition or reconstruction.

City staff described a house that had burned twice and said the owner, who spoke with staff the day before the hearing but was not present at the hearing, had picked up permit application materials. Staff told the magistrate the city sought an order requiring the owner to secure either a demolition permit or a rebuilding permit within 30 days. If the owner chose demolition, staff said, the owner would have 90 days from permit issuance to complete demolition; if the owner chose to rebuild, the owner would have 180 days from permit issuance to complete reconstruction. Staff requested a $50-per-day fine to begin if the applicable timeframe (90 or 180 days) elapsed without completion, and asked to recover mailing costs of $20.88.

Marchman granted the city's request: the owner must obtain a permit within 30 days and, after permit issuance, will have either 90 days to demolish or 180 days to rebuild, depending on the permit chosen. If the work is not completed within the applicable timeframe, a $50-per-day fine will begin to accrue. The magistrate also ordered reimbursement of mailing costs of $20.88.