What seemed at first like an ordinary property-line dispute between neighbors--the kind that no doubt happens in backyards all over town--has clearly spiraled, devolving into alleged racial slurs, gripes over the garage's aesthetics, terse letters to the mayor, and potential lawsuits against the city. The city's law department is quite familiar with the situation, with one staffer referring to it as "the Lana Abrams matter." Fritz Cutchlow sounds tired as he recounts conflicting surveys, over what he says is "16 inches of property."
The whole thing started with the city's apparent backflip on the Cutchlow garage's permit. Nearly a year ago, the city's Department of Planning and Development issued Cutchlow a permit to expand his garage to his lot line ("I'm sure that it's mine," Cutchlow says), to accommodate two cars. But the Abrams say the garage addition crosses into their yard--the flower bed it now completely covers is the Abrams', Lana says.
The Abrams took their complaint, along with a survey of their own, to the city in April, showing the garage addition was on their property. Indeed, on April 22, a city inspector slapped a Notice of Violation on the garage in question, essentially killing Cutchlow's permit: "Addition must be cut back from disputed area, or owner must provide a certified survey showing the property line," the violation read. It seemed to support the Abrams' contention that the original permit was iffy, due to the disputed property boundaries.
Cutchlow had until May 21 to comply with the Notice of Violation, according to DPD records. More than three months later, the garage is still standing. Cutchlow explains his side: "First of all, it's not on their property. Second of all, I'm in the midst of acquiring another permit to continue building. I'm using an adjacent survey"--the Abrams' next-door neighbor's--"which states the property line I'm building on is correct." He's got 20 pages of notes outlining his own case. "I think the Abrams created the mess, and I think the city will end up proving that in the end."
Meanwhile, the Abrams say, they've spent over $7,000 on surveys and legal fees to try and settle the dispute over the garage, which the Abrams also believe is poorly constructed and at risk of toppling onto their kids ("It's falling over so much that [Cutchlow] had to hook up a chain to hold it up upright," Lana says. "And it's built on top of my retaining wall, which is not meant to bear weight at all.") Lana and her husband have fired off complaint letters to everyone from City Attorney Tom Carr to Mayor Greg Nickels. With no resolution in sight--the Abrams would like the garage removed, and then to have a judge determine the true property line--the couple is preparing to sue the city.
The city, for its part, says the garage dispute is largely a private matter for the neighbors to settle themselves. "The property boundary dispute is beyond the authority of any City of Seattle official to resolve," the Mayor wrote to the Abrams on July 26.
While the Abrams agree that city officials can't just pick the right boundary line, they're frustrated that the city is ducking responsibility for the mess. "Why do I need to sue him to remove the garage, when they're the ones who let him build it?" Lana asks. City officials say they're still working on the situation. "Our office is still in communication with Mr. Cutchlow to get things moving," explains Kathryn Harper, at the city attorney's office. "Otherwise, there is very, very little that we can do."
