By Warren Cornwall
Herald Writer
Neighborhood activists and Snohomish County successfully fought off a $2 million lawsuit by a developer who was spurned by the county council.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry has turned down an effort to revive a planned 109-home development near the county’s southern border.
He ruled the council had followed the law when it rejected the project in November, according to attorneys for both sides.
The case was seen as an important test of whether the county could close a loophole allowing large developments without roads that meet regular construction standards.
"I feel really good about this," county council chairman Dave Somers said.
Builders have 12 similar projects before the county that would now need to be revised to comply with county guidelines, Somers said.
The lawsuit caught the attention of local activists because it sought damages from the citizens who had appealed the project, including a 9-year-old daughter of neighbors.
Richard Wennberg, who lives two blocks from the 25-acre parcel between Brier and Bothell, was relieved that the decision could mark the end to a long and costly effort to block the development.
"We were nervous because he (Castleberry) was very hard on the county council during the hearing," Wennberg said.
Owners of the Everett development firm, Pacific Rim Development Inc., haven’t decided whether to appeal the judge’s ruling, said the company’s attorney, Bill Foster.
"If we don’t appeal we’re going to have to redesign the project," Foster said.
Foster had said the neighbors, including the young girl, were included partly as a technicality, and that the company would not have sought to collect money from them if the court had ruled in Pacific Rim’s favor Thursday.
Terry Lindblom, a co-owner of the company, declined comment.
Neighbors of the project, including Wennberg, had fought the project, arguing the planned roads weren’t wide enough to comply with county road standards. They also said the builder was illegally trying to create single-family homes without subdividing the property into separate lots.
The council upheld that challenge.
The builder, in court filings, argued this brand of development fell under a part of county regulations exempt from regular road standards and subdivision requirements. The lawsuit sought to overturn the council’s decision and to collect up to $2 million in damages.
The dispute over the development helped push the county to overhaul its development regulations in May. That should prevent similar disputes for future projects, Somers said. But it won’t help the dozen developments already in the pipeline.
Developers, led by the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, have challenged those reforms before a regional land-use board with the power to overturn the regulations.
You can call Herald Writer Warren Cornwall at 425-339-3463 or send e-mail to cornwall@heraldnet.com.
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