Interview with Tom HIll

Yesterday morning I sat down and talked with Tom Hill, Olympia's Building Official. I learned a great deal about how Accessory Structure coding is used in practice. Tom works with code enforcement officers who respond to calls from citizens. He had a funny saying, "Olympia is a city of 50,000 code enforcement officers." Tom made it clear that his goal as a Building Official is to "ensure it is safe, it is sanitary and there is no reason to be concerned about fire."

I learned the building code requirements from the International Residential Code (IRC). Located on pages 58-63, including:

- Every dwelling unit must be 120 sq. ft (190 with bathroom).
- 8% of wall space must allow for light and ventilation (windows).
- Ceiling height is 7 ft.
- Every dwelling unit must have a water closet for shower or kitchen sink. (this is not entirely clear to me yet, but once I get a copy of the code I will clarify).

As long as the unit is under 200 square feet and "no kitchen", you can get away with only a permit for electrical and plumbing. If it is less than 800 square feet it can be permitted as an Accessory Structure. This grey-area is where my research is pinpointing a potential source of contention due to the necessary application of discretionary power. In Tom's own words, "at the end we're faced with evaluating the use."

I asked him if clarifying the difference between an ADU and an Accessory Structure was difficult? Tom said that it is a battle between him and Todd Stamm about what classifies a kitchen. A person can suffice with a microwave and a toaster oven, and this does not conflict with building or zoning code. I asked Tom, in his opinion, would be be beneficial to clarify the standards for an Accessory Structure dwelling? He admitted, "guidelines would be better."

As a young citizen, I immediately think, what happens when they hire someone else? Tom is a really great guy, he lives in the community he works and his main concern is safety, not evaluating the lifestyles of Olympia's citizens. Replicable standards for classification of a "permitted Accessory Structure Dwelling" exist in other cities and it may behoove Olympia's goals for their comprehensive plan to evaluate some options from other cities.