It is no surprise to me that many Bainbridge Island citizens choose to avoid and/or otherwise circumvent the permitting process (“A closer look at after-the-fact permitting,” Feb. 6).

I went through a city permitting process that took two years to obtain a permit to remove a dangerous tree on the shoreline of Sun Day Cove Condominiums. I can personally attest to the convoluted and deterring process, and the extreme attitudes and abusive efforts of the Planning Department to deny you your rights as responsible homeowners.

The city has “shot itself in the foot” by making the permitting process so stringent and obsessive in its regulations to control, coupled with its punitive and abusive tactics by the Planning Department, making this process a nightmare for those who choose to do the honorable thing and go through the process.

When these accounts of how our citizens are being mistreated by the Planning Department become known, as they are now becoming known, it’s no wonder that our citizens seek other means to solve their problems outside of regulation. We need to change how business is conducted at City Hall.

Janet Sturham

Sun Day Cove