The City of Kirkland posted a notice of violation at Carillon Point on Tuesday, June 21, ordering a float plane tourism company to stop operation or risk fines.

Seaplane Scenics has been operating in front of the Woodmark Hotel since May 2015, and did not begin to secure a Shoreline Conditional Use Permit until November of the same year.

Eric Shields, Kirkland Planning Director, said there had been some discourse between the city and Carillon Point over whether the pilot needed the city’s permission to taxi to and from and dock. The City of Kirkland has no jurisdiction over the lake surface.

Sue Gemmill, property manager for Carillon Properties and the named applicant for the permit, said she had “no idea” a permit was needed until Carillon Properties checked in with the city’s planning department following the first summer of operation.

But in an email obtained by the Reporter through a public records request, dated Dec. 5, 2014 from Kirkland Economic Development Manager Ellen Miller-Wolfe, Gemmill was notified of a city permit analysis. Seaplane Scenics pilot James Young was carbon copied in the email and listed as someone who could transfer permit information to Carillon Point.

Gemmill also said the resort location hadn’t received any complaints in the first summer of operation without a permit. Just prior to the second summer of operation, a public notice of permit application was posted along Lake Washington boulevard on May 31.

As of Monday, June 20, the city received 108 public comments on the project — 90 of which were in opposition.

“[Carillon Point is] not complying, and there’s a lot of public concern about that,” Shields said. “We felt that, because of the level of concern, it seemed appropriate to ask [Carillon Point] to stop.”

Unless the issue can be resolved between Carillon Properties and the city, the case will go before the hearing examiner on July 7. The hearing examiner, should the city recommend a fine, can impose a penalty of $100 per day of operation dating back to the date a violation notice was posted.

Shields said that, until the hearing examiner agrees to impose a fine, the city does not collect money. The city issues a notice of violation about four times per month, Shields said.

Gemmill and Young could not be reached for comment.