HomeMy WebLinkAboutAP17 Showalter Reply to Cnty Respone re Staff RerpotM A R I L Y N S H O W A L T E R
1596 Shine Road, Port Ludlow, WA 98365
marilyn.showalter@gmail.com, 360-259-1700
Aug 11 , 2025
Honorable Gary N. McLean
Jefferson County Hearing Examiner
Jefferson County, Washington
carolyn@co.jefferson.wa.us
Dear Hearing Examiner McLean:
Re: Reply to “County’s Response to Allegation of No Staff Report” SDP 2024-00006
I am writing this “Reply” in respect of the Shoreline permit component of the Public Hearing
currently scheduled to begin August 19, 2025. I’m not writing this as an Appellant in the SEPA
appeal in the above-entitled matter. However, the County’s “Response” is captioned as part of the
appeal, and that is part of the problem. The Staff Report was embedded in SEPA appeal document,
and even that document was not posted by August 5, 2025, let alone by July 30, 2025, the date the
Public Hearing Notice (itself undated) asserted the Staff Report was available.
The Staff Report was not posted 14 days in advance of the Public Hearing date, as required by Rule
4.2. So the public has not had the required time to review the Staff Report. If the Staff Report is
posted today (it has not been as of this writing), that will be eight days before the hearing, and only
three days before Parties of Record are required to file documents under Rule 4.3 (i.e., five days
before the hearing). This is not legally enough time under Rule 4.2, and it is not practically enough
time to analyze and respond to a long and detailed Staff Report.
Compounding the problem is the extreme difficulty in finding these records at all, and incomplete
records if one manages to navigate to the right site, but I will save that point for another filing.
I do recognize that Jefferson County is small and understaffed. But it costs less to comply with the
rules than to violate them, as this case demonstrates. I have tried every which way to get the County
to update its practices and make them consistent with the law and rules, and generally to promptly
post online their records in contested cases. It would save everyone time, money, and headaches.
Almost a year ago, I wrote to DCD to tell them that the Notice of Application in this case was legally
deficient and that it should be re-issued in correct form and content. We wouldn’t be in this pickle if
that had been done, but since it wasn’t, we have arrived at eight days before the Public Hearing, with
the NOA issue still outstanding. If the case is to go forward with a Public Hearing, the hearing needs
to be postponed, pending adequate time to review the Staff Report.
Respectfully,
Marilyn Showalter
Marilyn Showalter
CA received 08/11/25
EXHIBIT AP17