Homeowner told to remove structures at 11th Street stairs
Dec. 7—A homeowner who built part of a fence and deck on city property at the top of the 11th Street stairs without a permit will need to take it all down.
Billie O'Neel said she wanted to keep deer out of her garden at her Jerome Avenue house, create a level place for her husband to walk and cover an unsightly retaining wall that belongs to the city. But she built into a public green space and a city right of way to do it — taking advantage, O'Neel said, of good weather and the sudden availability of workers and supplies.
After the fact, in an attempt to bring the work into compliance with city code, O'Neel submitted a request to use the public property next door.
But city staff noted multiple issues with what O'Neel had built and recommended that city leaders deny her request. O'Neel decided to take the matter to the City Council. At a meeting Monday night, the council agreed with staff and denied her application.
The city will work with O'Neel on a reasonable timeline to remove the portions of the fence, deck and an arbor that intrude on city property and setbacks, according to City Engineer Nathan Crater.
The city is also investigating other code violations associated with O'Neel's work on her property.
"I'm really sorry this has come to this impasse," City Councilor Joan Herman told O'Neel, "but it would not have happened if the proper permits had been sought to begin with."
O'Neel, an Arkansas resident, has been renovating the house in preparation for a move to Astoria. Herman was sympathetic to O'Neel's efforts to improve her home and said she understood working within the city's codes could be frustrating, but she and other city councilors bristled at O'Neel's characterization of interactions with city staff.
O'Neel described herself as a "battered homeowner" who had been abused by city planning staff over the years.
"I'm so impressed with our city staff," Herman countered. "They're hardworking. They're dedicated. They take a lot of abuse."
"Because they are working for a public agency they are not at liberty to respond to verbal abuse," she added, "so I will, as a council member: They don't deserve that. It's not professional, it's not civil and it's not community-minded, no matter how difficult of a position you feel yourself in."
To City Councilor Tom Hilton, there was another layer: O'Neel built on property that belongs to the residents of Astoria and functions as a type of public park.
In the city's report, staff noted that O'Neel had encroached on an iconic vista. The improvements she made would require multiple variances that are not supported by the city's development code. City water and sewer pipes run through the right of way and encroachments could make it difficult to access these utilities. O'Neel also covered up a failed portion of a retaining wall, which could hide further deterioration, staff wrote.
"I just think if you would have followed the process and done what the code and what the city was asking you to do, I believe we wouldn't be in the predicament we're in right now," Hilton said.
O'Neel has helped maintain the area of the 11th Street stairs that is near her property and has an agreement in place with the city's Parks and Recreation Department to restore decorative colonnades at the top of the stairs at her own expense. She plans to employ a contractor who is working on her house.
Now, O'Neel told the City Council, "I'll be making a very difficult decision soon."
She isn't sure she will still want to donate the work if the city is going to force her to tear down the fence, decking and arbor.
O'Neel admits she did the work without getting the necessary permission from the city, but she contends that she has only enhanced the area — her own property and the city parkland — with her improvements.
