Troutdale mayor refuses to resign over building controversy
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TROUTDALE, Ore. – Troutdale Mayor Jim Kight dug in and refused to resign Tuesday night after city council members, one after the other, called for him to step down over a controversy whether his new building is a shed or a second house.
Kight, who says the investigation is politically motivated, says the structure with two offices, a kitchen and a bathroom is not a second house.
"This is a nonresidential building," he said. "We do not live here. I live next door."
But City Councilor Rich Allen called it "shameful, absolutely shameful," during Tuesday night's heated city council meeting.
One by one, the other six council members argued no ordinary resident could build such a property on a floodplain without manipulating Troutdale's building code and permitting process.
"It is clear to me that Mayor Kight orchestrated an act of deception on a scale this city has never seen," said Councilor Eric Anderson.
Councilor David Ripma said, "This was only possible because he was an elected official with access not available to members of the public."
And Councilor Doug Daoust said, "I ask for the good of Troutdale that Mr. Kight step down as mayor."
But instead of resigning himself, Kight called for the council to resign and to pay back the $30,000 cost of the investigation.
"I think the most important thing in the report is what the investigator said that I used no undue 
influence," he said.
So where's the smoking gun according to council members?
"There's not supposed to be a basement in a floodplain, and he has a full basement," said Daoust.
Kight has a response to that as well, calling the second level a crawlspace, not a basement. And he says it was built as approved and inspected by the city.
"If I broke codes, that's a real feat because I didn't approve the plans," he said. "The city employees approved the plans. I had a general contractor."
One woman in the audience said Kight should resign, and one council member compared the controversy to Watergate.
Kight is seeking re-election, and he's challenged by one of the council members asking for him to leave.
The council released results of a lengthy investigation they say documents unethical and deceptive behavior.
Just out of curiosity, why shouldn't anyone be able to build on their own property as long as it's a safe structure?
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And unless there are closets in the "Offices" this is not a residence.Â
 @Owt_Raged There are laws, policies and procedures that all of us are required by law to follow. I don't think this is about whether he has the right to place what ever he wants on his property, it is about that he used his status and position to do something that a person in that does not hold his office would not be able to do or basically he did something that puts him above the law.
@Owt_Raged Here are a few things to think about in relation to land use/building codes Owt_Raged: 1) If people could build anything they want on their property what do you imagine our "neighborhoods" would eventually look like?; 2) What would likely happen when the building density got to the level of the mayors and a major fire broke out?; 3) How would it be if people began constructing "safe" buildings to house industrial operations on their property? 4) What would happen if your neighbor decided he could rent out his "safe" building for use as a halfway house or residence for convicted felons deemed not to be a great risk to society?; 5) What happens when a bunch of your neighbors build basements in the floodplain and a subsequent flood raises the water elevation to the level where it floods your property? There are too many other reasons for land use/building codes to list here but the codes are one reason why property values are as high as they are, why the northwest is a desireable area to live in, and why we rarely, if ever, have building fires that spread to become neihborhood fires.
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As for "closets," they can be built into or added to any room to make it a bedroom and nobody will be able to tell from the outward appearance of the structure.Â
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Building codes and land use laws exist for the same reason so many other laws have been adopted - they are necessary for an orderly society and to minimize conflict between neighbors. There are plenty of examples around the world where the lack of land use laws and building codes have resulted in chaos, unsanitary, unsafe and unappealing conditions.
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 @I812 They exist because someone instead of talking to their neighbor, complained to an elected official about someone else doing something they didn't like.
Considering in OR there wasn't even licensed contractors until the early 70's, how do you think all those homes got built? A vast majority of the area has homes over 50 years old.
I think beyond residential, commercial or industrial, all the rest of the "codes" are just there so that certain government departments can justify their existence.
@Owt_Raged Nor is it a shed. Regardless of the law, one should expect politicians NOT to exercise loopholes and other shenanigans. If the code says not to build a basement in a floodplain and he built one, he's in violation. Wouldn't bother me fractionally as much if he wasn't also a politician.
 @Dienekes4160 if the code says...
Why should I have to follow a code to build a structure on my own property as long as the final product is safe? This isn't really about what he does for a living, it's about the fact that in order to utilize his own property the way he is entitled to, as you say, he had to use loopholes. He shouldn't have. No one should. You should be able to build on your own property without interference from some elected or appointed official.
Now if this was say huge, ugly, shoddy workmanship, on someone else's property, or dangerous, then okay. But it's not. And I don't see where it's effecting any other property values around him.
I remember this guy from way back when I worked at the same care facility his elderly mother was in. It was clear to most of us that he was thrilled she was in there and out of his hair. Always asking about lowering her rent and complaining why things were so expensive there. He seemed sneaky, and this is just one more thing to validate that. How he became mayor we'll never know.
Mayor does not seem to be able to tell a house from a shed. Mr Mayor a shed is somewhere to keep yard tools and old tires, along with the gym equipment you ere going to use to get back in shape. A shed is not a office building with a bathroom and kitchen. How stupid do you think people are ? You are nothing more than a common criminal and terrible liar. You have misused your office and will get yours in the end.
When is a full basement a crawl space? When it is built for giants that stand 16 feet tall.
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As for "no undue influence," just being the elected mayor means having influence over staff decisions because they are placed in a very precarious "no-win" situation.
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Finally Mayor Knight: A building with two offices, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a full basement is not a shed. It is a thinly disguised house where the "offices" are really bedrooms.
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What is really shamefull about all this beyond what should be clear code violations is Knight attempting to defend his actions.
this whole planning thing should have been handled by the county building department as there is a "conflict of interest" as the mayor is the boss of the people under him and they can't enforce the law without the chance of being fired by the mayor. the full reports shows that he would have never gotten a permit to build if he had been a citizen as the size kept changing and things were added after the approval and under duress they were all approved by the city employees. the reports states the mayor called the "offices" bedrooms so yes he built a house not a shed.Â
and this is why so many people won't buy a house and just rent. you really never own your home outright as there is a tax lien on it forever in this country. don't pay your tax and the house is sold out from under you. you can't do whatever you want on your land without neighborhood approval. build something the neighbors don't like and off to court you go. in my city i would have to get a permit to even build a 6' fence. some cities tell you what color(s) you can paint your house or business. most permits are not for any reason but to take money out of your pocket to employee more government workers.
Is it just me or does that picture of Mayor Knight make him look entirely clueless?
I think yes, he used his knowledge of how things work to read between some lines. Everybody does it. It's easy to be upset at him and jealous maybe. Say that elected officials need to be held to higher standards. But if he didn't do anything illegal then get over yourselves and give money to the campaign of a different official to get him out of office. It's too much to say he should resign because of it. That's a petty reaction in my book.
This guy better check his pants for smoke damage....cause his drawers are on fire!!Calling this anything but a house is monumental understatement and an insult to anyone with a brain.
Look he built a mother in law house. Since he lives next door. I do like te window he has for his "crawl space".
 @cpt.iceman Wait a minute.  Don't fault the mayor for windows in the 'crawlspace'.  He's just protecting the eyesight of the spiders and mice that will live there by providing at least *some* light for them.  Buddhists would applaud him for that, at least!Â
The dismal level of politics starting with the US Congress has now reached the city of Troutdale. Politicians are elected to serve the public but their agendas don't seem to be able to get out of there own chambers. It's really time for a big change of some kind in politics.
Whether or not he prevailed over some inspector to sign off on it, he can't assert that it is or it isn't a "residence." There are simple rules about the definition - like here in WashCo, where if it has heat and an egress window, it's a residence.Â
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The watershed is not his to endanger, and there are very good reasons why we can't allow anybody to do anything on their property without regard to the consequences for the neighbors. What's next, a lead smelter?
 @alohan it's not a watershed area it is a 100 year flood plane and i have a house on one and so does millions of others. it just can have a flood every one hundred years not that it will happen.
 @alohan ". . .  if it has heat and an egress window, it's a residence."
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Well, there goes my dedicated homebrew shed! Â Well insulated walls, electricity with an up-to-code breaker panel, a decent range, an energy-efficient AC unit built into the wall, an energy-efficient wall-mounted heater, a Keg-O-Rator built for three kegs on tap, an energy-efficient small fridge so there will be snacks when I get hungry, a roll-up garage door so in warm weather I can sit in my comfy chair and contemplate Nature in my back yard, an old fridge for clarifying and aging 5-gallon glass carboys full of homebrew, cupboards, a counter with storage space underneath, a double sink with hot and cold water. Â Granted, I spend quite a lot of time out there, but there's no bed and no bathroom. Â Also, it's probably half the size of this mayor's small palace and it's built on a concrete slab so no crawl space.
 @alohan Oh, and it's not built on a flood plain.
$30,000.00 investigation the council should resign,
 @Ghetto Baby council should have hired the county building department to investigate instead of lawyers. would have been over $20,000 cheaper. all the lawyers did was hire an investigator and charged $30,000 for it.
 @Ghetto Baby That way, corrupt politicians can stay in office.
I say the mayor, and all citizens of Troutdale (or any other town), should be allowed to build whatever they want on their property. You can't really say you own a piece of property if somebody else (or some government agency) can dictate what you build on it.
 @xthc2012 "I say the mayor, and all citizens of Troutdale (or any other town), should be allowed to build whatever they want on their property."
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LOL! I want to build a chainsaw repair shed, a heavy metal music stage, a great big pit for burning my old solvents and oils, and a shooting range.
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I imagine you're a good neighbor and wouldn't complain.
 @Dienekes4160 I want a shooting range too! But common sense (remember that?) tells me I will need a much larger piece of property. Probably for the heavy metal music stage too. But I have no problem if you want to build a chainsaw repair shop.
You don't mind if my cats live in it, do you?
Judging by those windows in the foundation I'm highly skeptical of the "crawlspace" assertion being made.... Â Who the hell puts vinyl windows in their crawlspace? Â Would be curious to see what the inside looks like... Don't suppose the Mayor would open it up to allow some pics? Â
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If this were an average citizen, there would be NO WAY this building is approved as it sits now. Â
This guy Kight is a real piece of work. Why the voters keep voting him back in is beyond me. I guess those who live in Troutdale have no standards when it comes to elected officials.
 @RalphCramden Spot on. +5 Ralph. After reading the two enclosed PDFs and the line about "used to flip houses" I'm thinking this guy has done this sort of thing before. Get the shovels.
 @FupTheCat Mayor Kight has distrust written all over him.
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He could make those "offices" into bedrooms in less than a day. Plus, notice, there was no tour of the basement. I'll bet there is a full bath down there.
"It is clear to me that Mayor Kight orchestrated an act of deception on a scale this city has never seen," said Councilor Eric Anderson.
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Yeah I'm sure!!!!!! ha ha... ...... Â
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Is this really a waste or do I just not know what is going on?? Just seems like a witch hunt to some degree.
 @back4more All people want is for government officials to hold themselves to the same standards of law and civic code as they expect of the rest of us.
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 @Dienekes4160 Good luck on that expectation.  Hasn't happened since long before the Whigs and the Torries back in the days before our Revolution!
@Gravity Works! It hasn't happened because people continue to excuse political misbehavior. It's always the OTHER candidate tht's corrupt.