In any given year, Futurewise is working on between 15-20 active legal appeals, and we’re expecting that number to only go up over the coming years as cities and counties across the state update their comprehensive plans. We’ll have news to share soon about new appeals, but right now, we’re still busy with on-going appeals from years past! Futurewise’s legal team follows these cases from start to finish, no matter how long it takes to resolve our concerns. Check out these updates on current cases:

Snohomish County Rural ADUs – Futurewise previously appealed Snohomish County’s ordinance that would have allowed detached accessory dwelling units in rural areas that are not counted toward rural growth targets. We won our original case against the ordinance. However, that win reverted rural ADU regulations to the previous ordinance, which we also believe does not comply with state law. The Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB) ruled that they did not have jurisdiction over this previous ordinance. We appealed that decision to Superior Court and lost, but we still believe we have a strong case and this is an important issue. We will be appealing the Superior Court decision to the Court of Appeals. We are also supporting legislation this session that would clarify this issue in our favor.

Snohomish County Rural Clusters – We recently appealed this Snohomish County rural clusters ordinance that would allow rural clusters that look and act like suburban subdivisions. We have now had our pre-hearing conference and are working on the case brief. Final GMHB decision will be reached by June 11.

Thurston County – Several years ago, Futurewise appealed Thurston County’s farmland designations to protect more farmland across the county. We had been giving the County extensions to bring their farmland protections into compliance. They have now taken a new action on farmland, but it still does not designate agricultural lands that need to be protected. We will be appealing this new ordinance and combining it with the previous one and reactivating this case.

Spokane Douglass 2 – This case is the last of our long-time Spokane area appeals. We are appealing the upzone of land on the edge of the unincorporated urban area. We have a compliance review on January 28. A local impacted community group, the Five Mile Prairie Neighborhood Association, is also joining us in the appeal.

Okanogan Comprehensive Plan – Several years ago we appealed the Okanogan County comprehensive plan on various issues including the protection of local water resources. The County has been challenging our legal standing to appeal on various grounds. After winning on several of those issues, the Superior Court sided with the County of the most recent standing issue. We are appealing this ruling to the Court of Appeals and should get a decision from the Court of Appeals sometime this year. The Methow Valley Citizens Council is a local partner on the appeal.

King County Wineries – Futurewise appealed the King County Wineries ordinance to protect farmland and rural areas in King County. After our win at the State Supreme Court last year, the GMHB set a compliance deadline of June 23. The County has a draft ordinance that has been submitted to Commerce for review. It is unclear when it will be considered for adoption.