Sudden Valley association spent $41,420 on a dock. Less than a year later, it must be rebuilt
Botched permitting of a Sudden Valley Marina boat launch dock resulted in the abrupt closure of the $41,420 structure in March 2022, less than a year after its completion.
The Sudden Valley Community Association, which manages the marina, is suing the local businesses that installed the dock — Lakeside Marine and Dockmeister Marine Sales — along with its owner, Whatcom resident Daniel Givan.
Givan and Lakeside Marine declined to offer comment to The Bellingham Herald at this time.
The Sudden Valley Community Association’s General Manager Dan Pike declined to answer any questions regarding the issue, saying that the association’s attorneys instructed him to say that “we don’t comment on actual or threatened litigation.” Pike, who formerly served as mayor of Bellingham, was appointed to the Sudden Valley role in December 2021.
The association is represented by attorneys at Bellingham-based law firm Chmelik Sitkin & Davis. The attorneys did not respond to the Herald’s interview requests.
The homeowners’ association’s written complaint, filed in late April in Whatcom County Superior Court, alleges that Givan and his businesses charged the association tens of thousands of dollars for dock replacement despite lacking the proper county-issued permits.
The complaint alleges that if Givan had properly completed the building permit process, as promised in a 2020 agreement with the association, Whatcom County would likely have required dock designs to be changed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This federal civil rights law was passed in 1990 to prevent discrimination based on disability.
The Sudden Valley Community Association also alleges in its complaint that Givan and Lakeside Marine misrepresented to the county the cost of the dock as much lower than it actually was. The association alleges that the misrepresentation allowed Givan and Lakeside Marine to avoid obtaining a shoreline substantial development permit, which is required for certain developments along county shorelines.
The association also alleges that Dockmeister performed the contracted work as an unlicensed and unbonded contractor, violating Washington’s Consumer Protection Act.
The association is seeking damages in an amount to be determined at trial.
Alleged permitting issue
More than 7,000 residents live in Sudden Valley, which was built in 1969 and is the largest homeowners’ association in Washington, according to the association’s resident handbook.
Residents pay monthly dues ranging from about $135 to $145. The money is allocated toward upkeep of the lakeside community, including dock maintenance. The association is governed by a board of nine voting directors and two non-voting directors, who are uncompensated property owners elected by the community. Residents have previously criticized association leadership for mismanaging the community’s money.
Givan and Lakeside Marine first submitted a project proposal to the homeowners’ association in March 2020 offering to replace and install the boat launch dock.
Givan was authorized to act as an “agent” for the Sudden Valley Community Association in the dock’s permitting process on May 7, 2020, the association’s complaint alleges. That month, Givan and Lakeside Marine allegedly submitted an application to the county for a residential building permit. In the application, they stated that the value of the dock under the contract with the community association was $6,781.25, the complaint alleges. This figure is more than six times lower than the $41,420 the Sudden Valley Community Association said in its complaint that it paid for the dock replacement.
There wasn’t supporting documentation included in the building permit application, and Whatcom County did not process it or issue a building permit, the complaint alleges. Mark Personius, director of Whatcom’s Planning & Development Services said in an email to The Herald that the county had no permit records for the original dock.
Givan and Lakeside Marine did not inform the community association that the dock they were installing was not issued a building permit, the complaint alleges.
In June 2020, Givan and Lakeside Marine submitted an application to Whatcom County to exempt the dock from requirements to obtain a shoreline substantial development permit, the complaint alleges. Developments that cost less than $7,047 are exempt from obtaining a shoreline substantial development permit, and Givan and Lakeside Marine again stated that the cost of the dock was $6,781.25, the complaint alleges. Givan and Lakeside Marine also submitted to the county an invoice from Dockmeister representing this figure as the cost of the dock, the complaint alleges.
Whatcom County granted the shoreline exemption permit around December 2020, the complaint alleges. The dock was completed about five months later, in mid-May 2021.
Lack of permits discovered
In March 2022, the Sudden Valley Community Association approached Whatcom County staff to inquire about the dock’s permitting, Personius told The Herald. The association’s General Manager Pike declined to tell The Herald how the community association came to suspect the dock was not properly permitted.
Whatcom County ordered the community association to close the dock until proper permitting was obtained and to rebuild it in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the complaint alleges. The boat launch dock is currently unusable, and the ramp has been removed.
“The schedule for replacement of the boat launch ramp will be determined by the County permitting timeframes and contractor availability,” according to a Sudden Valley Community Association e-blast posted to Facebook by resident Anne Cope on April 5, 2022. “We apologize for any inconvenience the ramp removal may cause, and we thank you for your continued patience and support.”
Personius said county staff does not yet know how the new dock will need to be constructed differently than the original one in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, since “the building permit review is on hold until the shoreline permitting is completed. However, ADA compliance typically might include such things as rails or bumpers, more easily accessible ramps and wider docks.”
Personius said that the county does not anticipate assessing any penalties to the Sudden Valley Community Association since it has been providing information about the permit history.
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
