POULSBO —  Jung Shin, owner of a shopping center on Viking Avenue, is suing to evict three business owners, claiming they owe her several years of back rent.

The business owners, however,  say Shin relieved them of rent payments until she repaired the leaking roof — work that was never completely done and has, they say,  caused black mold, damage to inventory, and jeopardized the health of customers and employees.

Meanwhile, the Kitsap County Assessor’s online database shows Shin owes $42,000 in back property taxes on the parcel.

Hana Shin (not related to landlord), the owner of Poulsbo Imperial Grocery or, as it’s commonly known, Hana’s Smoke Shop, was distraught on April 18 as she led The Herald on a tour of her vacant store.

The 2,000-square-foot business had obvious structural problems and mold — issues she said have existed and, in several cases, gotten worse over the last seven years.

The store smelled wet and musty; black mold grew up the walls where the coolers had been; drywall had decayed, leaving a hole a child could crouch and walk through.

A black mushroom grew out of a baseboard outside the restroom. A canopy of plastic sheeting caught water that leaked from the roof above an upstairs apartment and through the store’s ceiling. What the makeshift leak catchment failed to hold, buckets strategically placed on the floor collected water that was black.

“The water was black. The film on the water was oily. It was awful,” said Valerie Michaud, manager for five years of Hana’s Smoke Shop.

The exterior of the shop displayed exposed electrical wires, and what appeared to be a concrete support column is missing. The ceiling of the overhang collapsed.

Shin said these were the working conditions for her and her employees for more than nine years. She is appealing the back rent that her landlord, Shin Polygon LLC, seeks from her, saying she tried to get the owner to fix the building’s problems for years.

“So many times I’ve asked, can you fix it, can you fix it? They don’t care about us, they just want their money. Can you imagine nine years of breathing that bad mold?”

Jung Shin’s lawyer, Thi Huynh, said he could not comment.

“The parties are under current negotiations right now so I can’t speak to that,” he said.

When asked if he could speak to tenants’ complaints and their assertion they were told they didn’t have to pay rent until repairs were made, he said, “No comment.”

In Hana Shin’s declaration filed with Kitsap County Superior Court, she wrote:

“… In 2008, I complained to the plaintiff regarding the leaking roof. In 2009, I sent pictures along with a letter of the damage the leaking roof was causing. In 2010, I sent additional pictures of the resulting damage. In February of 2013, as the issue still not addressed, I retained an attorney to send a letter to the plaintiff [mail was returned to sender] …

“Shortly after the above letters were sent, I received a call from the plaintiff asking that I refrain from having legal representation. Plaintiff indicated she would remedy the defective condition …

“As of April 2016, these issues continue to plague not only my business but the entire building.”

Richard Drippon, sole proprietor of Custom Cycles Northwest, also faces eviction. He wrote in his declaration:

“In 2007, a heavy rainstorm caused a deluge of water to break through the ceiling. This resulted in severe damage to the property and much of my property, including two of my customers’ motorcycles … The roof has continued to leak severely, causing rotting in the ceiling and walls, which eventually led to black mold conditions. Two of my employees quit claiming respiratory problems due to the ongoing mold…”

A third business, The Electrical Shop, owned by Thomas Castillo, also faces eviction.

With no other option, Hana Shin was forced to pack up her shop of almost 10 years. She did so in 10 days.

“That makes me so upset right now to walk out with nothing,” she said. “It is a very hard time to go through.”

Michaud, who has developed a close relationship with her boss over the years, was devastated by the events.

“She’s put everything into this shop. When I found out [she was being evicted] I just cried for her — a 10-year business packed away in one week. I’m devastated for her.”

Michaud was witness to much of the damages in the building, including an incident where she was almost struck by a piece of falling debris.

“I was sitting out [in front of the shop] one day,” she said. “All of a sudden, a giant piece of board fell from the overhang. It flew down and was hanging there by one nail. I had to twist the board to get it loose. It was so scary. Can you imagine if a customer was hit with that?

“We’ve been trying to get someone’s attention to help but nobody has.”

Customers reportedly called the Kitsap Public Health District, but said calls were not returned.

When asked about the condition of the building, city building inspectors said they had no written complaints on file.

“An issue of mold is typically handled between the tenant and the property owner,” said Sheila Miller of the city building department. “There are different jurisdictions that come into play.”

Mayor Becky Erickson recalled two of the tenants who came into City Hall a few weeks prior.

“Normally, we don’t get into a dispute between landlord and tenant,” Erickson said. “Frankly, a formal complaint on private property like this, there’s probably not a lot we can do.”

Erickson, who dines at Envy (on the southern end of the shopping center) for breakfast every Sunday, said the building’s condition concerns her.

“That complex has bothered me for some time,” she said. “We’ve been talking about what [we can] do with commercial properties that are in disrepair, and how we enforce certain standards on maintenance on commercial properties.”

Erickson said she is working with her staff on a new ordinance to enforce standards for commercial buildings and hold owners accountable for property maintenance.

“I had a meeting with commercial real estate brokers and proposed an ordinance [to address] commercial buildings that have fallen into disrepair,” she said.

“In my mind, the owner needs to come and clean it up. If you let your property fall apart to possible danger, we have the authority to make you clean it up.”

The city is working on its comprehensive plan update, however; Erickson said the soonest this could come into effect would be 2017.

“You’ll probably be looking at the beginning of 2017 before we get started on this,” she said. “This is not is an isolated issue and we need to have better solutions. We need to be more diligent about enforcing certain standards for our commercial buildings.”

In the meantime, Hana Shin said she has lost thousands of dollars in inventory and is storing the non-perishable merchandise at home.

“Steady customers know me and know I work hard. Almost two years I didn’t even take a day off,” she said. “But I didn’t have a chance to tell my customers goodbye.”