The owner of a downtown McCall business has again been ordered by the city to remove decorative water ski roofing from the building.
The water skis must be taken down from the Laketown Clothing Company building at 200 Lenora St. by June 16, according to a city code enforcement letter signed by McCall Community and Economic Development Director Michelle Groenevelt.
“It has come to our attention that water skis have been installed on the roof of your business without the required permits or approvals,” Groenevelt said in the letter. “This is the second instance of modification of the roof without proper approvals and permits.”
The letter cited penalties that could cost Laketown owner Cade Huskinson up to $1,000 for each day the skis remain in place beyond June 16.
“I simply can’t afford that,” Huskinson told Valley Lookout on Tuesday. “So the skis will be coming down unless I can find a way with the city to keep them up.”
Huskinson reinstalled the water ski roof late last month as a “temporary art installation” to remain in place for the summer.
The roof received significant public support when it was first put up in 2023, but was ultimately found not to comply with city design guidelines that require buildings to use “natural exterior materials” that “tend toward earthy warm hues” and do not include “harshly contrasted color combinations.”
Huskinson hopeful ‘change will come eventually’
While disappointed, Huskinson said he remains hopeful that the city will update codes to allow the decorative roofing, as suggested by the McCall City Council during an appeal hearing on the roof in 2023.
“I was really hopeful that the city would hear their citizens on this issue…and that change will come eventually,” he said. “Maybe not for my business but for others in McCall.”
Groenevelt said in the letter to Huskinson that the topic will be revisited by the city next year.
“The council acknowledged the need to revisit the design guidelines in the future,” the letter said. “However, the design guidelines update has been deferred to 2026 to align with the broader McCall Area Comprehensive Plan update.”
City officials declined further comment on the enforcement action, saying the letter effectively captured the city’s position.
Without donors like you, this story would not exist.
Make a donation of any size here
The city council previously upheld rulings by the McCall Area Planning and Zoning Commission and city staff that found the ski roof conflicted with city design standards.
The city also worried that snow and ice falling from the ski roof could create a safety hazard for pedestrians.
