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moved away from the house to complete the project as best they could. They completed the bathroom structure which is not conditioned and part of the square footage and immediately completed the second story structure over the garage. From mid to late August, they completed both by November 14"'. At that time, the project had gone on for a couple of months. In February, they were turned into the building department because that was the six-month deadline. He said he also called the Leete's and the Long's and left messages with them indicating what they were doing. Councilmember McGovern questioned and confirmed with Mr. Iserson that it would have taken Mr. Smith about 2 months to secure a permit for the two projects. She said the City has codes for reasons, believed Mr. Smith was placing blame on the neighbors. Councilmember Sullivan acknowledged Mr. Smith knew he needed permits but chose not to obtain them, and Mr. Smith said the reason was because his neighbors wanted the work done as soon as possible, winter was coming, they moved out of the house, and he believed the project was supported by neighbors. He said he did not want to circumvent, but speed up the process. Councilmember Cook-Kallio said construction takes a long time but from 2002 to 2008 is a long time to be inconvenienced, which she believed was extraordinary. Mr. Smith discussed the work and said it was done by him. Steve Evans said he is a general contractor helping Mr. Smith to finish the project, he inspected the property, is aware of all conditions and believed everything could be easily completed within the 6 months. Steve Winter said he is a local real estate appraiser, believes the house conforms to the neighborhood in relationship to style, it is on the large end of size, there are 4 homes within the block that are 2,700 square feet, 4 other homes sold which were over 3,100 square feet and he believed the house meets the size limits given the size of the lot. He believed improvements are of superior quality once finished and will enhance the values of homes in the area. He said the complaint regarding construction timing is an issue of the past and he thought best was to finish the project as fast as possible and to tear out the existing addition would take much longer. Robert Leete, appellant, said regarding the timing of the project and the applicant's assertion he has been delayed by appeals, they have been delayed as a result of the applicant's actions as construction has gone on 5-6 years prior to the appeal. He said the neighbors never told Mr. Smith at any time that non-permitted structures were okay; he encouraged the Council to visit the neighborhood as he did not believe there were any 2,700 square foot houses, and felt property values would not be enhanced with a 3,600 square foot home. Mayor Hosterman closed the public hearing. Councilmember Sullivan questioned what construction had occurred prior to the 2001 permit. Mr. Iserson said there are no permits on file prior to 2001 and he was not aware of any construction. He agreed that it was possible work was done without permits; however, the neighbors would most likely have heard about it. He questioned whether the rest of the construction was done other than the two additions not covered by permits. Mr. Iserson said the interior work cannot be completed because one of the new non-permitted additions is the electrical room and to get wiring from that room, permits must be obtained in order to extend wiring to the rest of the house, but from the exterior point of view, it is very close to being completed. City Council Minutes 6 March 4, 2008