WARM BEACH — A group of landowners and activists who favor stricter controls on rural development is applauding a Superior Court judge’s recent decision to prevent duplexes from being built on small lots in this area south of Stanwood.

The 7-Lakes group and landowners with property near the proposed duplexes sued Snohomish County last summer over the planning department’s interpretation of county development codes.

The planning department had decided that an apparent loophole would allow developers to build 27 duplexes on lots that were considered too small for single-family houses.

“What bothers me is they kept on saying that there’s a loophole, there’s a loophole,” said 7-Lakes president Ellen Hiatt Watson.

Judge Michael Downes issued his decision on March 18. The ruling applies countywide, not just to the Warm Beach area.

Planning director Craig Ladiser made the now-voided interpretation after consulting with staff and attorneys. He said he was in a tough spot and that the judge recognized his dilemma in resolving conflicting parts of the code.

“The judge really vindicated us,” Ladiser said.

Four property owners wanted to build three to five duplexes per acre between 92nd Drive NW south of 196th Street NW. They said they would have preferred to build single-family homes, but were constrained by the rules.

Two neighbors who own several lots in the area joined 7-Lakes in the suit. Bob Landles, a retired city of Everett land-use manager, and Roger Hill were concerned about protecting the rural character of the area where they live.

“These are necessary measures to protect the rural character and to protect the environment that we live in,” Landles said.

The area should stay rural, he said, because fire protection, police services and water systems would not have accommodated suburban-style growth. The homes would have been on septic systems, causing him and others to worry about runoff into Port Susan Bay.

Why allow twice the density, Landles asked, in an area where single-family homes could not be built?

The land in question is in an area zoned for one house per five acres.

Exceptions allowed property owners to build on 3,000-square-foot lots near Warm Beach that were mapped out a century ago. However, owners often had to combine several lots to meet health district requirements for septic tanks and drain fields. The county rules significantly increased lot size requirements if a landowner wanted to build any additional homes.

The loophole would have let property owners build duplexes to get around the size requirements for single-family homes.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.