News Release No. 2000-18
December 27, 2000
COUNTY AND FRIENDS PREVAIL IN WESTCOTT BAY DOCK CASE
The specter of a 300-foot dock stretching across the quiet tidal flats of Wescott Bay vanished on December 5 when the Washington State Supreme Court denied the appeal of the Bellevue Farms Homeowners' Association to allow the dock's construction. The decision ended a five-year legal battle during which permit applications for the dock were denied by five separate levels of review.
The proposed 300-foot dock, which would have provided dinghy access to the bay for the Bellevue Farm Homeowners, was opposed by the San Juan County Planning Department, neighboring landowners in Westcott and Garrison Bays and the Friends of the San Juans. The Friends, through Seattle land-use attorney Peter Eglick, played an instrumental role during the original permit hearing and, in the defeat of the four appeals brought in front of the Shoreline Hearings Board, Thurston County Superior Court and the State Court of Appeals by the Bellevue Farms Homeowners.
The Homeowners contended that the Shoreline Hearings Board should not have been permitted to deny the dock based on environmental grounds, including aesthetics, because the County had issued a determination of nonsignificance under the State Environmental Policy Act. Over the course of five years, nine judges that reviewed the case disagreed.
Bellevue Farms was supported by the Washington Association of Realtors and the Building Industry Association of Washington both of whom filed briefs as friends of the court. The County and the Friends were joined by the Shorelines Hearings Board and the Department of Ecology in opposition to the dock.
The decision of the State Supreme Court instated the Court
of Appeals
decision as the final decision in the case. In a strongly worded
and
unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals found that "the
marginal
improvement" to the Homeowners' ability to launch small boats
during low tides and, to have access to the bay for their children
and grandchildren did not constitute a "necessity" for
a dock as required by the County's Shoreline Master Program.
The court also said that the "marginal increase in convenience"
for the Bellevue Farms Homeowners did not outweigh the dock's
obstruction of the tidelands and the damage done to public and
private views of Wescott Bay. They concluded that the permit
was properly denied by the County.
Prosecutor Randall K. Gaylord praised the decision of the Supreme Court to deny further review of the Shoreline Hearings Board's denial of the dock application. "The decision of the Court of Appeals is a strong endorsement of the ability of the County and the Shoreline Hearings Board to protect the shorelines of San Juan County. These opinions will strengthen the ability of the County to continue its efforts to protect our shorelines from unnecessary development which degrades the islands' natural beauty."
Gaylord also thanked the Friends for their tireless efforts during the four appeals of the Hearing Examiner's decision. "Without the skillful assistance of the Friends, the battle to uphold this decision would have been much more difficult. The County's citizens should recognize the tireless efforts and on-going commitment of the Friends".
San Juan County was represented by civil deputies John
Krall and Karen
Vedder in its defense of the Hearing Examiner and Shoreline Hearings
Board decisions.
Randall K. Gaylord
San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney
96 Second Street, 2nd Floor
P.O. Box 760
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
360/378-4101