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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2961-458a G.p1.l~ ~\7 Michelle McConnell From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Attachments: ken shock [sailboi@gmail.com] Wednesday, April 15, 2009 2:20 PM John Austin; Phil Johnson; David Sullivan; Michelle McConnell jfritz@ncplus.net; George Sickel; Bud Schindler; ASM INC; Larry Carter GOOD BIAWC NEWS AND GREAT NEWS image003.jpg; ATT6137832.txt; FINAL Press Release 4-14-09.pdf V1{;/ (i~0 To: Mary Dickinson Cc: maryldickinson@hotmail.com; klinge@gsklegal.pro; 'Samuel A. Rodabough' ; amyb@biaw.com; timothyh@biaw.com Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 20092: 17 PM Subject: FW: GOOD BIA we NEWS AND GREAT NEWS Hi Everyone, Below and attached please find the following message from Bill Quehrn to the BfA WC Board of Directors. I urge you to please open the press release! BlA WC is proud to be an intervenor party in the Citizen's tor Rational Shoreline Planning and Ron Jepson lawsuit. As a result, we are delighted to announce that BlA WC members have WON in the motion for summary judgment in front of Skagit County Superior Court yesterday. In litigation, it is amazing to ever have a summary judgment motion granted in general, and for the speed in which it was granted, just after the oral argument in Skagit County Superior Court yesterday, is truly remarkable. Sadly, because of the City Council meeting yesterday I couldn't be there, but Bill and I received a full repolt immediately afterwards from Sam Rodabough, our attorney. He and Matt Stock from the Buck Law Group (on behalf of Ron Jepson and Citizens for Rational Shoreline Planning) argued tor a summary judgment motion on the pleadings, which the County granted. Whatcom County attorney Karen Frakes argued on behalf of the County, and an attorney trom the Washington State Department of Ecology was there as well, as intervenors on behalf of the County. The press release spells out the details. Please bear in mind that we still are waiting from a decision on the substantive portions of the SMP on behalf of the Growth Management Hearings Board, but the Superior Court judge's decision on the Charter violations was pretty clear with the granting of this motion (the Growth Board does not have jurisdiction over such issues, which is why this motion went straight to Superior Court). 1 I have many people to thank! First of all, of course, is Ron Jepson of BIA WC Member Ronald 'T'. Jepson and Associates fIX initiating his own action against the County, and for being the contact person for Citizens for Rational Shoreline Planning. All of you owe him your thanks for standing up! The second person is Dannon Traxler, ofBIA WC Member Langabeer & Tull for first alerting me of this during that hot afternoon on August 5th. I ran downtown, and when Seth Fleetwood decided to allow public comment, I read into the record the language from the Charter that states clearly that resolutions have no force of law. Evidentially, the judge told the County attomeys yesterday that the Charter was clear, and that the SMPmust be adopted by ordinance. I'd like to think that I had a hand in that, which I couldn't have done if Dannon hadn't called me, testified herself on behalf of her clients, and worked with us on the BIAWC Shorelines Task Force for years. I also want to recognize the members of the BIA WC Shorelines Task Force, both past and present, for their INCREDIBLE efforts! Terry Unger, Dannon Traxler, Perry Eskridge (Realtors GAD), Roger Almskaar, Bill Henshaw and Bob Wiesen have been there with me from the beginning of this process, and I especially want to recognize them! Steve Moore has been incredibly helpful along with Ken Oplinger from the Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce, GA Chair Charlie Hudson has been active in the Task Force on behalf of the remodelers, and David Verret of Urban Design Group, Gena Stremler of Peoples Bank, David Simpson, Rick Tremaine, and Darin DeYoung of Oltman Insurance have been our "experts" and have attended the meetings and given us invaluable advice about these issuesl Carolyn Dwyer has been wonderful in getting out information on behalf of the Whatcom County Association of Realtors, and Jim Dickinson of BIA WC member Lummi Island Land Company and our friend Michelle Luke have provided additional information at the Task Force meetings on behalf of waterfront property owners, to help us isolate the major nonconforming concerns. Our friends Gary Lysne, Larry Quinlivan, Kris Ungem and Chet Dow have helped us out in the same capacity, and Skip Richards and Bill Cantrell have provided additional technical support with answering our questions, as has Bryan Jones of Jones Engineers. While Joe Leyda, Michelle 'T'hompson, and Dana Quam have both moved on in their careers (and out of the area), they still check in onus from time to time on this shorelines issue because they still believe that this issue was important. There are a few people involved with shorelines who have asked to remain anonymous, and I will respect their privacy, but if you read this, thank you (I certainly hope I haven't missed anybody)l Thank you all very much for your support (and the Board of Directors as well). WE MADE A DIFFERENCE! @ Lastly, with apologies to Dr. Suess and Horton the Elephant: "It meant what it said And it said what it meant The Charter is faithful, one-hundred percent!" (Paraphrased and freely adapted from Dr. Suess and Horton Hatches the Egg, for private intemal use only) I've been wanting to say that for some time, and now I can! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me! @ Mary 2 From: Bill Quehrn [mailto:billq@biawc.com] Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 20091:30 PM To: gablecrest@comcast.net Cc: 'Mary Dickinson' Subject: GOOD NEWS AND GREAT NEWS Importance: High We have some good news and some great news: The good news is that we received word from one of the Whatcom County planning staff members who has been working with us on the proposed update of the Title 16 Land Development Ordinance. His e-mail says in part: "David (Whatcom County Planning Director David Stalheim) has asked that I pass the word on that the current effort on the land disturbance code is suspended, as there is much work to be done before another version is presented for a public hearing. If anyone is currently reviewing the current version, they may want to curtail their efforts for the time being. I thank you and your members for your time thus far, and will keep you informed as we progress on the future version." This is a direct result of the group Mary Dickinson rounded up to meet with county staff including builders, remodelers, foresters, farmers, land use professionals, attorneys, and others. It is apparent that the impact of their comments has been heard. This ordinance has impacts on both land development and buildable land supply issues. We'll have to remain vigilant when it pops up again, but it did not get the usual window dress by the county and passage by the Council. Your constant charge to staff to build bridges and create coalitions was certainly honored in this action. Score one for our side on this!. The GREAT news is that a Skagit County Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of BIA WC as an intervenor, and Citizens for Rational Shoreline Planning (CFRSP), yesterday in a summary judgment hearing regarding the County Council's adoption of the Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) by Resolution last August. A press release that will go out today via our attorney, Charlie Klinge, is attached and says in part: At the time the resolution was passed, BIA WC's Governmental Affairs Director Mary Dickinson specifically told the County Council that adopting the SMP by Resolution violated the County Charter, but the County Council majority ignored this advice and rushed to adopt the SMP. She reminded the Council that language in the County Charter specifically states that resolutions do not have force in law. Before ruling in BIA WC's favor, Judge Rickert questioned the County during the argument as to why he should allow Whatcom County an exemption from the rules, when the County comes before the Court often to demand strict application of County rules from its citizens. 3 The practical effect of this ruling is that all applications for shoreline development that were made since last August must now be reviewed under the rules prevailing at that time, and presumably any that are made until the ordinance is properly passed will also be under the prior rules. What is HUGE here is the court's attention to the County Charter and Mary's flash that night at the court house that the SMP resolution was a violation of that document! This is a proud couple of days for BIA WC!. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement! Bill Quehrn, Executive Officer 1650 Baker Creek Place Bellingham, W A 98226 V: 360-671-4247 F: 360-647-8756 W'IMTfO..'l C<,p,rr Capr-admin mailing list Capr-admin@lists.celestial.com http://mailman.celestial.com/mailmanllistinfo/ capr-admin 4 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4-14-09 For further information contact Mary Dickinson, Governmental Affairs Director or Bill Quehrn, Executive Officer at 360-671-4247 BIA OF WHATCOM COUNTY WINS CHALLENGE TO THE COUNTY'S SHORELINE MANAGEMENT PLAN IN SUPERIOR COURT BELLINGHAM: The Building Industry Association of Whatcom County (BIA We) won a major victory yesterday before Skagit County Superior Court in the challenge to the County's adoption of a new Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). Superior Court Judge Michael Rickert ruled that the Whatcom County Council majority violated the County Charter by rushing through approval of the SMP last August by Resolution instead of by a formal Ordinance. The failure to use the Ordinance procedure avoided public scrutiny through a reopening of the public process and foreclosed the normal right of the Executive to veto Council action. BIA WC intervened in this action, and joined plaintiffs Citizens for Rational Shoreline Planning and Ron Jepson in this case. At the time the resolution was passed, BIA WC's Governmental Affairs Director Mary Dickinson specifically told the County Council that adopting the SMP by Resolution violated the County Charter, but the County Council majority ignored this advice and rushed to adopt the SMP. She reminded the Council that language in the County Charter specifically states that resolutions do not have force in law. Before ruling in BIA WC's favor, Judge Rickert questioned the County during the argument as to why he should allow Whatcom County an exemption from the rules, when the County comes before the Court often to demand strict application of County rules from its citizens. BIA WC's Government Affairs Director Mary Dickinson said: "The action by the County Council majority last August clearly violated the rights of County citizens by rushing through the approval without complying with the obvious requirements in the County Charter. We are proud that the judge recognized the importance of our Charter, a document created by Whatcom County's citizens, and reminded the Whatcom County Council majority and County staff that they are not above the law." BIA WC's attorney Charlie Klinge said: "The Court decision means that the County approval of the SMP last August was illegal. That means that any person applying to the County for a shoreline permit since last August is entitled to have that application decided based on the old SMP, and not on the new SMP. The new SMP rules contain a land grab designed to prevent property owners from using a 100-150 foot buffer area next to the water." BIA WC Executive Director Bill Quehrn said: "We expect the County and the State to immediately implement this court ruling by recognizing that all prior shoreline applications must be reviewed under the old SMP, and not the new objectionable SMP rules. The action by the 2 County Council majority last August was a blatant disregard of the County Charter, which we could not ignore. This is not merely a builder issue, but one that seriously impacts property owners and private citizens." Background: Whatcom County commenced a comprehensive update of its SMP in approximately August of 2004. The County's public process culminated in the adoption of an SMP via ordinance 2007-017 on February 27, 2007, which would not take effect until approved by the Washington State Department of Ecology. Ecology subsequently made its approval of the SMP contingent upon the County's adoption of 13 pages of substantive amendments. On August 5, 2008, rather than making these amendments subject to public scrutiny and reopening the public process, the County Council made a hasty decision to adopt Ecology's substantive amendments wholesale and even foreclosed the nonnal right of the Executive to veto Council action. The County's new SMP applies new land use regulations to all unincorporated land touching marine waters, larger rivers, and major lakes including Lake Whatcom and Lake Samish. The County plan generally mandates a 100-150 foot buffer and setback for all waterfront property requiring property owners applying for almost any permit to pennanently revegetate the buffer area with native plantings. In other words, any waterfront property owner, including existing homes, seeking permits even for minor remodeling projects will be faced with the County's demand to take that buffer area, without compensation, for native plantings to benefit the public. The County seeks to impose this onerous requirement on all properties even those with existing patios and landscaping in the buffer area whenever any penn its are sought. BIA WC has also challenged the SMP as an intervenor before the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board alleging that the County violated state law by (I) intentionally foreclosing public comment and input before making a rash decision in August of 2008 to enact a new SMP, and (2) designating all County shorelines as environmentally critical areas without regard to current shoreline conditions, including existing development. A decision by the Growth Board is expected next week. Contact: Bill Quehrn, Mary Dickinson BIA of Whatcom County Phone: 360-671-4247 Charlie A. Klinge, Sam Rodabough Groen Stephens & Klinge LLP, Attorneys at Law Phone: 425-453-6206