On Nov. 7 the Albany Landmarks Commission heard from an applicant that the city had fined him $301,000 for failing to get building permits for fixing up an old apartment house. The fine has been sharply reduced, but there’s a story here.
The house is at 230 Sixth Ave. S.E. Alfred Holman bought it last year. He told the commission he found the five apartments inside uninhabitable. And to avoid displacing the tenants, he moved as quickly as he could to make repairs.
He hired contractors for the work. For one reason or another, no permits were taken out. In any case, starting in October 2023, the city issued three notices about work having been done without permits. Then, this past September, it issued a notice of civil penalty: $301,000.
The city code provides for fines of $1,000 for each day of noncompliance. Hence the amount. But as allowed in the city code, Building Official Johnathan Balkema told me, the penalty was lowered, first to $10,000 and finally to half that.
Five thousand dollars is what he ended up paying, Al Holman told me Saturday when I visited with him at the house at 230 East Sixth.
Al Holman stands om the kitchen of the newly remodeled downstairs apartment at 230 Sixth Ave. S.E. on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
This two-story house with a daylight basement has long been divided into five or more apartments. Off and on in recent decades, conditions there included leaking pipes, broken windows, dry rot in the walls, blown fuses, several people in one or two rooms, tenants reduced to using hotplates for cooking, trash inside and out.
Repairs started after Holman bought the place in March 2023.
The basement apartment was the last to be remodeled. It was still vacant Saturday, and he showed it to me: New floors and windows. New cabinets. New stove and stainless steel refrigerator. Walk-in closets with built-in shelves. Fresh paint throughout.
The upstairs apartments were remodeled in the same style, he told me. Among other upgrades, they all have heating and air conditioning units that cost more than $9,000 each.
Holman has been in the insurance business in Albany for nearly 40 years. His firm, H&R Insurance Planners Inc., is at 405 Second Ave. S.E. He also buys old houses, fixes them up and rents them.
On Nov. 7 he was before the Albany Landmarks Commission for a public hearing on his request for permission to use “substitute materials,” specifically vinyl windows, on the Sixth Avenue house. In all the hassle about building permits, someone had seen a photo of a new vinyl window, triggering the city requirement for historic review. (The house is in the Hackleman Historic District.)
Nothing on the outside of that house is the same as it was when it was built in either 1885 (according to the city’s inventory of historic houses) or 1910 (according to the Linn County tax office.) Not the windows, not the siding, and certainly not the massive outside wooden stairs.
The recent work put new windows in where the old ones — also vinyl, Holman told the commission — were broken. The Landmarks board discussed it, then voted, with one member dissenting, to grant permission for vinyl windows.
So the window issue has been put to rest. But given the facts of this house — including decades of problems with habitability that the new owner has solved — why did the issue even come up?
The place used to be a stain on the neighborhood. It no longer is. For bringing about this change for the better, the owner deserves a civic award, not the notice of an astronomical fine that the city then deigned to reduce. (hh)
And here’s another view of the front of 230 Sixth Ave. S.E.
Footnote: On Nov. 14 I asked the city for a copy of the notice assessing the original fine. Albany Community Development Director Matthew Ruettgers replied: “As this is an active code compliance case, the citation is not available to the public at this time pursuant to ORS 192.345.” That section of the public records law makes an exception for material related to pending or likely litigation. Since Holman has already paid the reduced fine, I don’t understand the city’s refusal to disclose the citation. (hh)
Yes, right on! Just say no to pesky building permits. They’re just about making money. While we’re at it don’t allow any lawsuits later against the owner for anyone harmed by any preventable electrical fire, structural collapse, etc. Chose to move in? Tough luck. What’s most important is that it “looks” nice because we all know flippers never cut corners. Make Albany Great Again. SMH
Well said.
I’m more concerned about slumlords letting housing deteriorate so badly, and what those tenants had to endure. Much more infuriating than someone experiencing the consequences of breaking the law.
He says he wanted to make the units “habitable” for existing tenants. Landlords aren’t benefactors. I’m sure the tenants (or someone else) will be paying for those upgrades with increased rent. At least one unit is listed for $1100: “Welcome to our newly renovated 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment in Albany, OR. This cozy unit features…new flooring, fresh paint, brand new kitchen appliances, countertops, and cabinets.”
“For one reason or another, no permits were taken out.” Come on. Did he forget? Or did he risk getting caught for the cost savings to increase his ROI?
Given the investor run on starter homes during the pandemic, and the City only adding more middle rental housing, I expect that to increase. Slumlords & blight will too. Nearly 40% of Albany residents are renters. Who is looking out for them?
Sounds like the City Of Albany has taken safety and exchanged it to Greed For Profit. The man deserve a medal for his work not fines. Permits?!! So much for a so called free world. Even if you own something,the government has more rights to it than you do.
The city should have helped him keep his residents. He had bonded contractors to do the work and requested permission to use suitable materials. He did all of this without asking for surplus land, funding or donations to improve the livability of his renters. Kudos! to him and to you for speaking up for him.
Well said,
And yet you can build an ADU up to 600sq ft or half the sq ft of your house without permits. Most permits are for money not safety, just another hoop to go through, and even more reasons to not live/revitalize downtown Albany.
No, you still need permits for an ADU.
Good for you, Hasso, for informing us with this story. You asked why the city would not give you a copy of the documents that placed (originally) a huge fine on this contractor. Because they can refuse you; that is all the excuse they need. This city government is rotten to the core! And, with the changes coming in our country after January 20th, I don’t see how they can continue to pour money into Water Street to make it fancy for Farmer’s Market a few months out of the year. I also think some small businesses in elitist downtown Albany will have to eventually close. People’s money will be spent on utilities, groceries, rent, taxes, and clothes for their kids. They won’t have excess money to shop in fancy boutiques or eat in pricey restaurants.
The place was an eyesore. I often wondered who lived there. Now there is housing. Place looks super! Thank you for buying it and making it a living place.
That’s right, fine him for fixing up affordable housing…
Ah, but after all that, is it still “affordable” housing? A landlord who faces such hefty fines has to raise the rent to cover such costs. Despicable what the city did to him.
Thank you for reporting on this. This is all to common in all cities in Oregon. It took over 6 months for us to get the permits needed to add a mudroom in the garage of our house. When the inspectors came out to inspect the electrical, plumbing and mechanical, they were not even licensed electricians, plumbers or builders. All they had done is study for their inspectors license. The inspectors only have head knowledge without the actual know how.
Hold the phone.
Oregon inspectors must have relevant experience in building inspection or a related field. Clearly, this makes them an expert in their chosen “inspection” field.
And they must have a valid driver’s license. What more could you ask of them?
These government are “experts” who are protecting the common good. Their qualifications and subsequent decisions on regulations cannot be questioned.
By the way, what is your last name and address? I have a friend in government who wants to add you to their list of floating island deplorables and garbage.
One should get permits, especially for rental property, but the City Employee who thought $301k was fair should be demoted to pushing a broom.
I wonder which member of the Landmarks Commission voted no. They should be removed.
When did Albany residents choose to impose building codes on themselves?
Answer: They didn’t. The state imposed a uniform building code in 1973.
Once again, be careful who you elect. Oregon has a long history of anti-freedom politicians (state and local) who think they know what is best for every resident.
Up until 1973 each individual was free to make their own decision AND bear the consequence. What a radical thought.
Now, politicians and the unelected bureaucrats who enforce the “rules” gleefully exercise this power. Freedom and common sense be damned.
I had a 400 amp panel put in my house 30 years ago and got the electrical permit. However, nobody showed up to inspect it-they just wanted the money.
The way this is written, it appears that the owner of the rental property bought it sight-unseen (“he found the five apartments inside uninhabitable.”) Sounds unwise and unlikely to me, especially for someone who owns a business that “buys old houses, fixes them up and rents them.” I assume that this businessman bought the old house for a good price, fixed it up so that it would be a reliable, appreciating asset, and is collecting plenty of rent to keep him in the black. I doubt he paid an above-market price, fixed it up out of the goodness of his heart, and is charging below-market rent because of his love of low-income renters and heartfelt desire to improve the Hackleman district. At least I sure hope not. He’ll go broke doing that.
The story goes on to state that this humanitarian “hired contractors for the work. For one reason or another, no permits were taken out.” An actual journalist would FIND OUT why no permits were taken out. WHO failed to take out permits? Why the passive sentence construction, Hasso? Who are you letting off the hook? Permits exist for a reason, and people who don’t bother getting them are usually doing it because they want to save money or avoid making phone calls. It’s not smart, of course, because if something goes wrong and someone gets hurt or has their property damaged, the fools who failed to get a permit are liable. It also opens everyone up to blackmail (a disgruntled worker could demand money to stay quiet and not report the failure to acquire a permit).
The fine was ridiculous, so the city reduced it by 98%. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. $5k is probably about one month’s rent. After all that, the city (correctly) gave him what he wanted with the window decision.
What’s the problem here? This is the story of a property manager who tried to save a few bucks by not getting permits to repair a house and got caught. He got away with a slap on the wrist, and the city let him modify the windows because it was reasonable to do so. A real journalist would try to find out how many times Alfred has avoided the permitting process and gotten away with it.
Right, kill the messenger! Where else do you read local stories that actually mean something to the residents?
A “real” journalist? And just where do you find one? Hasso is about the best you’ve got in the local area and the price is right.
Good point. I am genuinely thankful for Hasso’s reporting. I was a bit harsh. I think my point still stands, though.
Do any of you people that are worried about the permits understand that the people were living in filth and squalor. The repairs and updates he immediately fixed were health and safety concerns. The person who owned the property prior to him buying it should be the one defending himself against renting to people in the condition they were in. Mr. Holman is not a property flipper and would not be a descent human being if he didn’t take action quickly on their behalf. Permits are a requirement to keep people from creating hazardous conditions for the people who will live there. When the city found out about the lack of permits they should have spoken to him and issued them to him right away as it was in immediate need due to the deplorable state the place was in. Laws are not made to abuse and punish people who are doing the right thing by correcting the law breaking conditions of a previous owner. Sad, that he is taking the heat for his compassionate efforts. Extra kudos to him for suffering all this unfair judgment.