Dedicated to Preserving the Rural
Character of the Wellington Neighborhood
04/05/09 Wood Trails/Montevallo Update
02/22/09 Another challenge to R-1 Zoning
01/25/09 Crime Prevention Mtg - Jan 27th
12/08/08 CNW Update
11/13/08 CNW Meeting - Nov 20th
10/07/08 CNW Update
05/27/08 CNW Update
03/08/08 Another Victory Celebration
02/26/08 Seattle Times Article
02/18/08 We Won - Part II
02/11/08 Attend Hearing on Feb 15
01/21/08 Martial Arts Demo on Feb 2
01/05/08 CNW Meeting on Jan 10
11/07/07 Money Matters Now
08/13/07 Victory is Ours!
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Thank you to the standing-room only crowd present at the Wood Trails/Montevallo Court of Appeals hearing downtown Seattle on April 17, and to those who have contributed money for our legal expenses. Despite the frustrations of a lengthy and costly legal process, CNW and the City have very strong positions in this battle. It is only through your interest and financial support that we have achieved this success.
We anticipated the judges would allow only 10 minutes of presentation per side, but instead allowed 15 minutes because they had questions. We were pleased the judges were interested in the details. This shows that they are engaged in the case and hadn’t already made up their minds.
Rick Aramburu demonstrated his value as our attorney. He communicated a superb understanding of land use law, was thoughtful and deliberate in his responses to the Appeals Court Justices, and answered their questions directly rather than skirting them. The City’s attorney also conveyed a similar understanding and approach to the municipal code and rezone decision process. This is important because the judges consider several legal positions in their questioning and deliberations. Effective attorneys such as Rick Aramburu are successful in guiding and refining the judges’ views on the legal issues being considered.
The three-judge panel focused narrowly on a few questions:
The first question was asked of Rich Hill, the attorney representing Phoenix. Rich Hill’s answered unequivocally that the City Council has no discretion to deny a rezone. We think that this statement by Phoenix, less than a minute into the hearing, may have lost the case for them because recent case law consistently supports Cities’ discretion to deny a rezone regardless of the wishes or claims of a developer.
Although there is no way to predict how the court will rule, it seemed that the hearing went very well for CNW. All three judges actively participated in the questioning, appeared to be prepared and interested in the case, and viewed the case as an important one.
We expect a decision from the Court of Appeals in approximately three months. The Court can decide whether or not to publish the decision. A published decision can be cited as precedent in subsequent legal proceedings, and the Washington State Supreme Court typically only considers published decisions for possible review. Assuming that the decision is published, we expect whomever loses to file a request with the Washington Supreme Court to hear the case. The Supreme Court accepts approximately 5% of the requests they receive, and an average of seven months to accept a case for review. If they do not accept the case for review, then the decision of the Court of Appeals will be the final decision in our case.
There have been some who have wondered why we continue to fund our own attorney when the City is supporting the case. There are two reasons.
First, we continue to have our own representation because we are a named party in the case, and if we back out we automatically lose our standing to continue the fight. If we back out and lose our standing in the court system, and the City later decides to abandon the case, Phoenix would win.
Second, our interests are slightly different than the City’s, and we want to make sure the outcome of this case fulfills CNW’s goals that have remained the same since we first organized as a community group. While the City Council voted unanimously in our favor and is now supporting us legally, which we appreciate, it was CNW’s technical documents and legal support that have given us backing through the Appeals process.
Those who have followed this issue since 2004 recall that the City staff originally called this a “done deal” – the staff said there was no question that the rezone and the development application would be granted. It took extensive community involvement – both technical expertise and financial support -- to win an EIS, create thousands of pages of technical documentation, pack the community center for three long evenings of hearings before a Hearing Examiner, repeat our arguments for the City Council, repeat them again at King County Superior Court, and yet again at the Court of Appeals last week.
Those who attended hearings know that judges continue to compliment, and be influenced by, our expert testimony. For example, when Rick Aramburu mentioned CNW’s chapter on roads and transportation issues on Friday, the judges had specific questions about the content of our resident Transportation Engineer’s report.
The bottom line is we are confident our continued involvement in this legal case is not just helpful, but necessary to achieve a satisfactory outcome for the citizens of this neighborhood.
Write a check to CNW. We live in a wonderful neighborhood, and your financial support allows us to keep it that way. Our lawyer’s fee is $250 an hour. Any contributions are appreciated. Our attorney is being very judicious in his expenditures, and proved his worth at the hearing. Please note that our contribution records are kept confidential, 99% of our funds go to covering legal expenses, and 1% for printing and supplies. No money is paid to any of our members.
Please write your check for $250 Payable to CNW today and mail to:
$250 = one hour of legal time. Contributions are not tax-deductible.