Permitting · May 2021 – present
Four Years in the Permitting Process
A documented record of permit applications, unanswered communications, and a pattern of non-response across two parcels — spanning from routine pre-permit questions in May 2021 to active litigation in 2025.
Event types
Background
What a Normal Permitting Process Looks Like
In a functioning municipality, a property owner asks a question, gets an answer, submits an application, receives a decision — approval or denial with reasons — and either builds or appeals. A routine application should take weeks, not years.
What is documented below is something different. Starting in 2021, Ragnar engaged in good faith through every available channel — calls, texts, emails, in-person visits, formal applications, and ultimately attorneys. The timeline is drawn from more than fifty documented contacts across four years. Every event below has a corresponding court exhibit you can read yourself.
Track 1
Parcel 9
May 2021 – present · Building permit application, ZBA appeal, active litigation
First 10+ unanswered contacts
Ragnar begins attempting to reach Village Building Inspector Joseph Richardson about routine questions: dirt movement on his property, whether a permit is required, and code enforcement concerns. Over May and June 2021, he logs more than ten unanswered calls, texts, and emails.
Exhibit 7 — Communication TimelineMeetings requested, rescheduled, or ignored
Ragnar requests in-person meetings repeatedly. Joseph is "unavailable," asks if issues can be handled by phone, then stops responding entirely. Ragnar documents: "simple questions shouldn't require hiring expensive attorneys."
Exhibit 7 — Communication TimelineWeeks of unanswered calls and texts
Ragnar sends follow-up after follow-up — 5 calls, 2 texts, multiple emails. He asks Joseph to respond by email to memorialize what was said in person. Joseph reads messages without replying.
Exhibit 7 — Communication TimelineParcel 9 building permit application filed
After two years of navigation, Ragnar formally files a building permit application for Parcel 9. Joseph confirms receipt but provides no timeline. Ragnar follows up repeatedly through the summer; Joseph proposes and cancels multiple appointment times.
Exhibit 6 — Parcel 9 Permit ApplicationAttorneys unable to get a response
With the Parcel 9 permit unacknowledged, Ragnar engages attorneys. Attorney Kenneth Britt emails Village Attorney Peter MacKinnon cc'ing the building inspector to request receipt confirmation. No reply for three weeks. A second follow-up requesting "the professional courtesy of a reply" goes unanswered.
Exhibit 7 — Communication TimelineMeetings attended — still no written decision
Ragnar meets with Joseph multiple times through October and November 2023. Meetings are productive in tone but produce no written decision on the Parcel 9 permit, no list of required remedies, and no approval to proceed.
Exhibit 6 — Parcel 9 Permit ApplicationFence ticket served while permit application is pending
Inspector Richardson serves Ragnar a fence ticket. Ragnar has a fence permit application actively in process. He questions the authority for the summons; Joseph repeatedly defers to "the chief" and declines to discuss substance.
Exhibit 7 — Communication TimelineEmergency seawall request — weeks without approval
Ragnar sends emergency photographs of a deteriorated shoreline retaining wall, warning that rocks must be brought in before seasonal supply runs out. Joseph forwards to the Village Engineer. Weeks pass with no approval, no denial, no response.
Exhibit 12 — Pond Flooding DocumentationParcel 9 permit: nearly one year, no written decision
The Parcel 9 building permit application has been pending for nearly a year. Ragnar has been told repeatedly it was sent to Village Attorney MacKinnon for legal review "months ago." MacKinnon tells Ragnar he has "no idea" about the matter and to speak with the building inspector.
Exhibit 6 — Parcel 9 Permit ApplicationZBA appeal filed — under protest, $3,500 fee
With no written decision after nearly three years, Ragnar files a ZBA appeal challenging the Village's failure to act. The $3,500 filing fee is paid under protest. The Village has taxed and recognized Parcel 9 as a buildable lot for over 80 years; the Village's own 1987 legal opinion confirmed Parcel 9's vested rights. The proceeding is ongoing with multiple adjournments.
Exhibit 6 — Parcel 9 Permit ApplicationRelated: Legal Enforcement Actions
In December 2023 — during a flooding emergency — the Village issued a Stop Work Order and threatened $500/day fines. Three holiday emails to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Village Attorney went unanswered. A ZBA filing cost $3,500 just to be heard. Estimated Village legal expenditure defending this posture: ~$250,000.
Track 2
Parcel 8
August 2025 – present · Permit submission refused at the counter
Building inspector refuses Parcel 8 permit submission in person
When Ragnar attempts to physically submit the Parcel 8 permit package at Village Hall, the building inspector refuses to accept it — citing unresolved "violations" that are themselves included within the comprehensive application being submitted.
Exhibit 8A — Parcel 8 Permit ApplicationAttorneys follow up — three weeks, no response
Attorney Britt emails Village Attorney MacKinnon regarding both Parcel 8 and Parcel 9 applications. No response. A second email requesting confirmation goes unanswered. Ragnar forwards the thread to a second attorney, noting three weeks without reply from the Village's own legal counsel.
Exhibit 7 — Communication TimelineThe Parcel 8 permit application has not been accepted. The Parcel 9 permit remains unresolved. Nearly three years after submission, no written decision — approval or denial — has been issued on either parcel.
The Pattern
Two parcels. Four years. Zero written decisions.
50+
Documented contacts to get routine permit questions answered
~3 years
Parcel 9 permit pending with no written decision — approval or denial
0
Written permit decisions issued on Parcel 8 or Parcel 9 as of today
This timeline is drawn from Exhibit 7 (Final Timeline of Attempts to Communicate with Inspector), Exhibit 6 (Parcel 9 Permit Application), Exhibit 8A (Parcel 8 Permit Application), and associated building permit records filed in Oelsner v. Village of Centre Island, Index No. 617568/2025. Every event shown corresponds to a timestamped document in the court record.