MARYSVILLE – A 216-acre cow pasture should remain rural farmland, the state Court of Appeals ruled this week.
The ruling overturns a Snohomish County Superior Court decision that allowed commercial development at the MacAngus Ranch.
The pasture land is west of I-5 and sits between the Tulalip Casino and a future Costco.
Since 2002, the Snohomish County Council has argued that commercial development should be allowed. In court, county attorneys said that surrounding development made the ranch property incapable of being farmed.
The county’s decision was “clearly erroneous,” the court ruled.
The property is prime agricultural land because it serves livestock, according to the ruling. Moreover, the land is protected by the Growth Management Act from being commercially developed, the court held.
The court sided with the land-use activist group Futurewise.
“We always knew that the residents and property owners of Snohomish County want to protect their working farms, and now we know the law is on their side,” Futurewise planning director Tim Trohimovich said.
The decision is the latest chapter in a years-long battle over what should happen to land belonging to MacAngus Ranches Inc.
It may not be the last.
“We’re disappointed but it looks like we’re going to appeal,” MacAngus spokesman Woody MacLeod said Friday.
The property is privately owned pastureland within the boundaries of the Tulalip Indian Reservation not far from Quilceda Village.
A lawyer for the property owners said the ruling caught him by surprise.
“I thought the law was pretty clear and was surprised the court didn’t give enough deference to the County Council and their determination,” said Steven Jones, an attorney with Seattle’s Marten Law Group.
He said the court did not give weight to other development in the area by the Tulalip Tribes and the city of Marysville.
In addition to the casino, the Tribes opened an outlet mall, and Marysville is developing the Lakewood Crossing area, future home to big box retailers including Costco.
In December 2002, the County Council voted to change the zoning for the cow pasture to allow for commercial development.
At the time, council members said that they were concerned the land might be sold to the Tulalip Tribes for development. If the sale had gone through, the result might have resulted in lost revenue for the county.
But the county’s zoning decision was appealed to the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board. In September 2003, the board overruled the county’s decision.
The legal battle continued and the decision was brought before the state Court of Appeals.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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