By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com
The owner of Yachats Brewing and Farmstore says he plans to re-submit long-awaited plans to Lincoln County next week in order to get building permits for his businesses open for almost five years without them.
But the submittal by Nathan Bernard – three months after they were originally promised – came after a loud and profane blowup last week at Yachats City Hall.
Bernard is upset that potential costs to bring his brewery and restaurant buildings up to code could reach $250,000. He also contends that other Yachats businesses violate codes – both city and county – without punishment.
“We’re going to submit (plans) only because they’re threatening my business license,” he said. “But I have no faith in the process.”
Bernard has been fighting with the county and city since 2013 over plans and permits for the new structure that houses his brewery and the remodeled bank building that houses his popular restaurant and store. The disagreements – including having plans rejected three times — have involved stop work orders by the county and threats of closure from the city, none of which have been enforced.
The long-running issue was the subject of a YachatsNews.com story in January.
The disagreements came into public view in December when Bernard came to Yachats Planning Commission and City Council meetings to express his frustration with the permit process for commercial buildings. But he said his architect would submit plans the week of Jan. 14.
He missed that self-imposed deadline.
At the city’s request, Bernard said he and his architect, Brian Cobb of Donald, Ore., met Jan. 31 with county building official Al Eames, Yachats City Manager Shannon Beaucaire and city planner Dave Mattison. They brought preliminary plans, but Bernard said the three officials didn’t respond or react to them. “They called the meeting at my expense and then gave no feedback,” he said. “It was a total waste of time and money.”
Commercial plans submitted to Lincoln County are contracted out for review to a Eugene company with architectural and engineering expertise. Eames and Mattison told YachatsNews.com that they told Bernard to submit the plans so the reviewers – who called three previous plans inadequate – could take a new look at them.
The city of Yachats can’t judge commercial plans, Mattison said, “because we don’t have the credentials for a commercial building.”
Bernard said in an interview that he told his architect to thoroughly examine both buildings to find everything not up to code. He was told that two restrooms in his restaurant — which was remodeled from an old bank building — are apparently out of compliance with state and federal disability rules. He said moving two toilets six inches would involve tearing up the concrete floor in a whole corner of his building. Code requirements would also mean putting in a fire suppression sprinkler system in the buildings at a cost of $100,000.
But American Disability Act guidelines indicate there is more leeway in making restrooms in remodeled buildings comply with federal regulations than in new construction.
Eames told YachatsNews.com on Tuesday that the county hasn’t brought up the issue with the restaurant’s bathrooms. “I don’t know where he’s getting that,” Eames said.
The basic requirement for remodeling commercial buildings is that the owner spend up to 25 percent of the overall remodeling cost on meeting a list of disabled access issues. And, Eames said, only the new brewery building, not the remodeled restaurant, would need sprinklers.
Eames says the county can’t make exceptions for business owners who don’t want to meet building codes.
“This whole deal with him is that he wants to beg forgiveness and have everything overlooked,” said Eames. “I can’t do that. The state can’t do that. This (brewery) is a whole, brand new building. It’s black and white.”
But Bernard said Tuesday he feels he’s not asking for special treatment, “but a conversation of what’s important, what’s too expensive and what can be done.”
“I’m trying to see if there’s a process to find a compromise that everyone can be satisfied with,” he said. “People think I’m trying to get away with everything. I’m just trying not to be singled out.
“There is no way I’m going to spend a quarter million dollars when there are code violations all over town,” he told YachatsNews.com.
But last week the disagreements led to Bernard shouting, swearing and slamming doors at City Hall. When that happened Wednesday, March 27, Beaucaire asked him to leave.
“I certainly understand that Mr. Bernard was frustrated to not receive immediate answers to his questions …” Beaucaire said in an email to YachatsNews.com. “However, when his behavior became aggressive, abusive, shouting threats and then digressing into profanities, I ended the conversation noting that I was happy to continue when he was calmer and in a more productive mindset.”
