City fines Oregon couple $2K per day for $100K swimming pool
WEST LINN, Ore. (AP) — A family in an upscale Portland suburb has been fighting for nearly three years to preserve their $100,000 swimming pool, built without the permit it needed in a protected wetlands area.
Now the couple faces a $2,000-a-day fine and a court date on a charge of prohibited use of a water resource area.
Troy and Gina Bundy, of West Linn, say they got an OK from the former mayor, Patti Galle, who called a permit a formality that could be put off. Galle has denied that.
After the pool was finished, the Bundys sought a permit, but the city turned them down. The city wanted the Bundys to remove the pool and restore a wetland behind their home, where fill from the pool was dumped during construction.
Now, The Oregonian reports, the Bundys face trial and a $2,000-a-day fine.
This month, police issued citations calling for fines retroactive to 2009. The Bundys pleaded not guilty to prohibited use of a water resource area. A Municipal Court trial is set for August.
Kirsten Wyatt, West Linn assistant city manager, said negotiations stalled, so the city acted.
"In West Linn, our community development code is a reflection of our values in regards to protecting the environment and personal property rights," Wyatt said.
The Bundys bought their home in 2003 and finished the 1,100-square-foot pool in the fall of 2009 on property located between two wetlands. The home is valued at about $533,000. The family declined to comment to The Oregonian and didn't return a phone call from The Associated Press.
"I'd be happy to pay a fine that's reasonable," Troy Bundy told The Oregonian last year. "I'd be happy to invest in a wetlands that's actually sustainable. I'd be happy to put the money wherever they want me to put it on their behalf. But what I'm saying is, let's exercise some common sense. This pool doesn't hurt anyone. It's on my property. I've bought the land. What more do you want?"
___
Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
Obviously these rules were already in place when they bought the property, and they just don't care about the values that the community already before they moved in. Shame on them! And they still don't have the common sense to understand that they were in the wrong not to get the permit before construction. If they were fighting to get a permit to build something they would have a totally different fight than having built without it.
Â
What about the rights of their neighbors, who bought land believing that these land use rules would be followed? These are expensive houses and people have paid a lot of money in order to live in a wetland. The only way that works is by restricting construction to the houses themselves.
When did america become "not" a free country. We have the right to "Life" "Liberty" and "the persuit of happiness". Obviously the pool makes this couple happy. They own the land that pool is on. They (and anyone else in this country) should be able to do as they please with their own property!! The goverment needs to BUT OUT.
 @Deanna Kattner america became a NOT free country in 1776...... ha.......... do the research... what does freedom even mean......