Ex-Planning Chief Seeks $1 Million In Fight Over Firing

Spokane County’s former planning chief has filed a $1 million claim against the county, alleging he was fired for refusing to break zoning and building laws.

Wallis “Wally” Hubbard, 53, who headed the department for 15 years, says in the Jan. 5 claim that county commissioners Steve Hasson and Phil Harris “interfered” in numerous cases before his office.

His claim is a precursor to a civil lawsuit, should the county refuse to settle.

Speaking for the county, Hasson denies any wrongdoing.

The claim does not detail specific instances but says the commissioners demanded that Hubbard approve illegal developments and building permits.

One case involved a 65-foot breezeway at a duplex, another a 13-foot-tall wall approved without a variance. Some developers, the claim says, were granted time extensions without going through normal procedures.

Hubbard “resisted these pressures, and as a consequence, the commissioners caused the department to be reorganized” under building director Jim Manson, the claim says.

Hubbard alleges that Manson fired him June 9, 1995, after Hubbard complained to county lawyers about an illegal hotel zoning that Manson had tried to approve at Spokane International Airport. The claim says the county’s lawyers agreed with Hubbard’s concerns.

Manson said last June the building-planning merger required fewer managers. The reorganization, he said, saved money, eliminated duplication of services and made the office friendlier to developers who have complained of overregulation.

Hubbard is seeking $500,000 for actual damages and $500,000 for emotional distress. Besides Hasson, Harris and Manson, the claim names Public Works Director Dennis Scott and Chief Administrative Officer Jim Lindow as defendants.

, DataTimes