The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON—2020 was a busy year for staff inside the Columbia County Planning and Building Department, primarily due to the Feb. flood. Work has continued apace, despite the COVID-19 slowdown. Planning Manager Dena Martin provided a synopsis for the county commissioners at their meeting last week.

The Planning and Building department oversees county land use, zoning, comprehensive plan updates, and environmental uses. The department also provides building services for Columbia County, the City of Dayton, the City of Waitsburg, and the Town of Starbuck and Garfield County.

Martin said she and Building Inspector, Clint Atteberry, traveled the county extensively during the 2020 flood event, performing and recording visible damage assessments.

While Atteberry performed multiple FEMA substantial damage assessments for the City of Dayton, Waitsburg, Columbia County, and the Town of Starbuck, in her role as the Floodplain Manager, Martin directed her attention to citizens affected by the flood and to the environmental agencies approving emergency shoreline repairs and providing them with stabilization exemptions and permits.

“It was difficult and challenging, but the one thing it brought out was it really did help us establish relationships and open lines of communications between all the different agencies,” she said.

Martin said there was a lot of confusion during the flood event about what is allowed as an emergency repair and what is not.

“We want to try to make that clear, so people know that process,” she said.

Improved website resources in the Planning and Building department include a Floodplain and Flooding page.

When the COVID-19 outbreak presented itself in March of 2020, the Planning Department had to shut down non-emergency construction, temporarily, only maintaining communication with contracted jurisdictions.

“Nobody really knew what was going on,” Martin said.

She was able to continue work on some preexisting and emergency work. The website was updated for COVID-19 requirements, and resources and training links were added. A new option for making payments online was also added.

Atteberry used Facetime and Messenger to continue the job of Building Inspector.

Martin said 213 building permits were issued in 2019, and 242 were issued in 2020. Revenue from permit fees increased by $19,848 over 2019. Valuation also increased by 1.26 million in 2020, over 2019. The Columbia County Health System Dental Suite Addition project and construction of a triplex in Dayton City limits is a big reason for the increase, Martin said.

The number of land use permits issued in 2020 was similar to 2019, with a notable exception being an increase in shoreline flood plain permits. Land use fees increased by $2,725 in 2020, over 2019. Thirty-five land use permits were issued in 2020, 24 more than in 2019.

The Columbia County Health System’s Assisted Living Facility units and the Dental Suite Addition at the Columbia Family Clinic are the two big projects in 2021.

Martin and Atteberry continued simplifying the permitting application process and customizing it for the staff use.

In 2020 Atteberry gained his Residential Plumbing Inspector and Residential Mechanical Inspector certifications. Martin has been sitting in on many local meetings and committees to stay informed and for the purpose of establishing rapport between her department and members of the community.