Naked or not, pigs lose in court

Published 10:50 pm Wednesday, June 13, 2007

SEATTLE – A federal lawsuit against the city of Snohomish over its handling of a restaurant’s mural depicting pigs was thrown out of court Wednesday.

U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour dismissed all claims filed by Steve and Janelle Carpenter, including one that design standards for the city’s historic district were unconstitutionally vague.

The judge, however, left the door open to the Carpenters challenging the design standards and raising defamation allegations in state court. Among other things, the couple objected to the city’s characterization of the mural as featuring “naked pigs.”

The Carpenters and their attorney on Wednesday did not return phone calls.

In 2005, the Carpenters filed a civil claim with the city asking for $250,000, alleging lost business and stress when they delayed opening their restaurant, the BBQ Shack, at Second Street and Avenue D. The city denied the claim, leading to the lawsuit.

The battle began in late 2004 when the Carpenters prepared to open the business and commissioned a mural featuring dancing pigs, a hot air balloon and a classic car on a wall of the building.

The Carpenters didn’t have a city permit for the mural, which is required in the city’s historic district.

The couple said they didn’t know they needed a permit because the city told them they could paint the outside of the building, according to the claim.

The city intervened and stopped the painting. The business eventually opened with the mural covered.

The city’s design review board, an advisory committee that examines exterior changes in the historic district, first opposed the mural. The board said that it didn’t comply with design standards set to preserve the integrity of the historic downtown.

Later, the board allowed the business to keep the mural with a new outside eating area.

“The city is very pleased with the outcome and we’re very happy we don’t have to expend further energy to defend this,” said Larry Bauman, city manager.

In the lawsuit, the Carpenters claimed the hassle over the mural delayed the restaurant opening by about three months. The city countered that the restaurant couldn’t have opened earlier because the restaurant didn’t have the required permit from the Snohomish Health District.

The Carpenters also claimed that city officials harassed them, and made defaming comments about them, primarily in e-mails.

Judge Coughenour’s order would allow the Carpenters to go to Superior Court on defamation claims, and to attack the design standards in state court.

Coughenour could have taken up issues of state law, as well as the federal law, City Attorney Grant Weed said.

“It doesn’t mean (those issues) have any credence, but (the Carpenters) have the option of going to the state court,” Weed said. “It tells me the federal court chose not to address the state claims.”

A federal court trial, scheduled for late this month, was canceled.

In his decision, the judge said that the city regulations “are rationally related to Snohomish’s legitimate interest in maintaining the aesthetic and historic appearance of the historic district.”