News Release 2002-4
April 9, 2002
Fire District Prevails in Dispute Over Land-Use Permit
The lawsuit filed by Dorothy Austin Mudd challenging San Juan County's permitting process for the new Orcas Island Fire Hall ended quietly when Skagit County Superior Court Judge Michael Rickert dismissed the challenge for failure to comply with the Court's deadlines. The Judge also ordered Mudd to pay the Fire District $1,107.09 in attorney fees and costs.
Jonathan K. Sitkin, attorney for the law firm of Chmelik, Sitkin & Davis P.S. in Bellingham, representing San Juan Fire Protection District No. 2 said, "The Commissioners and the Chief are pleased to have this process completed. From the beginning, the District believed that the appeal was without merit. It is unfortunate that only a small portion of the Fire District's costs resulting from the permit challenge can be recovered."
The land-use permit for the Orcas Fire Hall was granted in 1997, and was revised in 2001 by Hearing Examiner Wick Dufford. Mudd alleged five errors in the permitting process and in November 2001 filed suit in Skagit County Superior Court through C. Thomas Moser, attorney in Mount Vernon. In February 2002, Moser withdrew from the case. Three days later Mudd wrote to the Prosecutor and published an advertisement in the local papers stating that she intended to "withdraw from all dealings with San Juan County."
"Apparently, Dorothy Austin Mudd just gave up," said Prosecutor Randall K. Gaylord. The Court found that Mudd had not submitted the entire record or a brief to the Court as required by a pre-trial court order. "The case was dismissed. Now that the case is over, the Fire District and the County will be able to focus their efforts on important matters," said Gaylord.