SNOHOMISH, Wash. — A family restaurant is at odds with the City of Snohomish over its COVID-era outdoor seating area, which the city says requires a permit.
After several notices, the city has given the business a deadline of July 5 to comply with regulations before the structure must be removed.
"All we want is the city to come and inspect the tent," said Bronn Journey, co-owner of Andy's Fish House.
Journey acknowledges the lack of permit but argues the tent does meet international building code.
"It was structurally engineered and stamped by an engineer," Journey said.
Heather Thomas, the city administrator for Snohomish, told KING 5 by phone that without a permit, the restaurant is not in compliance with city requirements and international building code.
For further clarification, Thomas referred KING 5 to an op-ed she wrote in February, published by the Everett Herald.
"While a city can be more stringent than state or federal laws, they cannot be less restrictive. Structures used for outdoor seating and dining — temporary or permanent — must be permitted. This has been the case since 1959, and the city’s requirements for these permits mirror the international code," she wrote in the piece.
"While some of these structures may have been installed by engineering or construction firms, they still are required to be permitted and meet the international standards," added Thomas.
As of late Friday night, an online petition has been signed by more than 3,000 people in an effort to convince the city to change its stance.
"I am frustrated with the city because of this one way dialogue that we're trying to build a bridge with the city and we just don't see the city building a bridge," said Journey.
He said the restaurant is willing to pay for a permit, but they believe that process would involve tearing the current structure down and starting over, reducing their current seating capacity of about 60 seats to just 16.
Without a permanent tent, Journey estimates up to 75% of the employee's could lose their jobs.
With the July 5 deadline looming, Thomas said the city hopes to work with Andy's Fish House on a resolution.