Skip to main contentWhenever we grow weary of the hurly-burly of the newsroom, there's nothing we like better than to load up on popcorn, slip a flask of bourbon into our briefcases and head over to the Portland Building for a leisurely afternoon of city code hearings. Don't laugh--these august proceedings have produced a treasure trove of roguish behavior, such as that of city housing inspector Mitch McKee.
Last week, Portland architect Jerry L. Ward appeared before the hearings officer to sort out code violations on an old rental house he owns at 4636 SW Condor Ave. Among other issues, the city's Bureau of Development Services ordered Ward to install gutters and downspouts and to fix up the fascia boards that run along the eaves.
Ward argued that the house, built in 1894, was not designed for gutters--instead it uses protruding drip moldings, which simply direct rainwater into the ground. Instead of installing gutters, Ward proposed a "soakage trench" around the house to absorb the runoff from the roof.
Inspector McKee replied that Ward's proposal didn't hold water. "We have to be fair," he allegedly told the hearings officer, meaning that the city should enforce its code equally.
Ward, who had already suffered through three previous hearings, could take this no longer. With a flourish worthy of Perry Mason, he brandished photographs of McKee's own house on North Newcastle Avenue, depicting defective fascia boards, rotted rafter tails and--gasp!--no gutters or downspouts!
Don't get us wrong. We appreciate the role housing inspectors play in protecting Portlanders from bad landlords. But insisting on gutters when the city actually runs a massive downspout disconnection program seems like bureaucratic fussbudgeting. We don't enjoy singling out an inspector just for doing his job. But we have to be fair.
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WWeek 2015