Development Services Director Kerwin Jensen has left the city of Richland which began advertising to replace him 7 days ago. Almost three years ago, Jensen figured prominently in promoting a permit application for newly elected Councilmember Theresa Richardson’s home addition despite a plans examiner’s safety concerns.
Plans examiner Tyler Jennings worried that the workout room addition Richardson planned might not be able to support a concrete slab, an outdoor kitchen and a pergola on top of it
When pressured to sign off on the project anyway, Jennings told Jensen, “That’s how people die.”
In an email to Fire Chief Tom Huntington obtained by the Observer through the Washington Public Records Act, Fire Marshall Ken Buechler said he overheard Jensen telling Jennings, “You are not leaving? You are going to sit at your desk. I am going to stand right here behind you until Richardson’s project is signed off.”
Jennings signed Richardson’s permit and resigned. Richardson later reapplied for a permit with a different architect and engineer.
The city council never investigated Richardson’s possible ethics violations for her role in obtaining the permit. Richland City Charter Section 4.05 Council Not to Interfere, requires councilmembers to deal with administration through the city manager. The city code prohibits councilmembers from using their positions for personal or financial gain.
In the spring of 2023, the city of Richland hired Matrix Consulting Group to recommend improvements in the permitting process.
Matrix didn’t waste any time in their 135-page report zeroing in on the low morale and high staff turnover in the permitting section of the development services department and recommended “…avoid political interference in the substance of decisions made by staff.”
The city website lists Deputy City Manager Joe Schiessl as “interim development services director.”