A long-running court battle involving a developer’s plans to build high-density housing that neighbors adamantly opposed appears headed back to court, even after neighbors appeared to have scored another victory.
Brookstone Investments LLC of Everett wants the county to rezone a 2/3-acre site at 17425 64th Ave. W. in unincorporated Lynnwood so it can build nine houses where a single family house now sits.
Neighbors fought the development and hearing examiners twice ruled that the project should not be approved by Snohomish County.
Brookstone appealed the ruling three times, the second time to the County Council, which asked a hearing examiner to hear the case again. That hearing examiner ruled aginst Brookstone, which appealed to Snohomish County Superior Court. In May, Superior Court Judge Michael T. Downes heard the case and this month he also ruled against the development, writing that it was out of character for a neighborhood consisting mostly of single family houses on large lots.
“It demonstrates that the County Council has the authority under county code to make decisions on rezones based on criteria in the Comprehensive Plan,” said John Moffat, a deputy prosecutor for the county, which argued against Brookstone in superior court.
Mike Pattison, a spokesman for the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, said the decision was bad for the building industry.
“It takes away all predictability in the rezone process,” he said. “It means that if you want to do something with your land, there are no grounds with which you can go into the county with any assurance that uniform standards of review will be used.”
Pattison said the association filed a motion for reconsideration in superior court on Monday, July 28, and “will very likely pursue appeals.”
The judge could either decline to hear the motion or change his mind.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
