SEATTLE — The city of Seattle has ordered Gordon Trifts to stop construction at 8454 42nd Avenue Southwest.
"It seems much different it seems rare for a project to build a house without a permit at all. It's pretty egregious," said Bryan Stevens, a representative for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development.
The city was alerted by neighbors who suspected the project was out of scale.
"When that final floor went up, (we) became a little concerned. We had the wherewithal to do some digging and research," said Elayne Harney.
The city found that Trifts was only issued a permit in January for a "detached garage accessory to single family residence, per plan."
Instead, they were surprised to see a three-story house on the parcel.
"It really, it started with one neighbor who understood how to navigate through the planning department and gather the knowledge and information to recognize the house was being built without a permit. We came together as a neighborhood we decided that it's our responsibility to ensure what happens in our neighborhood is just," said Harney.
"Pretty much everybody in the neighborhood has concerns about it," said Elaine Cornell, who lives next to the construction site.
On Tuesday, the city issued the stop work order. The city says Trifts will also be fined about $2,000 for the violation.
Stevens says city planners have known Trifts to bend the rules on other projects.
"We found he had been a bad actor before and someone who understands the rules and doesn't appear to be following him," said Stevens.
Trifts will have 30 days to get the proper permits for what has already been built. If not, he could face legal action from the city.
Stevens says getting permits may even require him to make major modifications on what has already been built.
"It's possible when he goes through the permit process, he may have to revise some of the work he's done which may be extremely costly," said Stevens.
The city says if Trifts does not have new permits approved, or comes to an agreement with planners about the project by July 6, he will be fined $500 a day.
Calls and emails to Trifts for comment were not returned.
KIRO
