Group wants county penalized

A Spokane neighborhood group is calling for economic sanctions to be imposed against Spokane County due to what it says is blatant disregard for the state’s Growth Management Act.

“Part of our concern is just to raise the alarm,” said Rick Eichstaedt, an attorney for Center for Justice, which is representing the Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane and Five Mile Prairie resident Kathy Miotke in their action against the county. “What does it take to get these guys to comply with the law?”

The Center for Justice has asked the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board to seek economic sanctions against Spokane County. The board has the authority to ask the governor to withhold state funds from counties that fail to comply with Washington’s growth management laws. Funds that can be withheld include the motor vehicle fuel tax, sales and use tax, liquor excise tax and real estate excise taxes. Withholding one of those funding sources could amount to millions of dollars in lost revenue.

Spokane County is considering additional expansion of the county’s urban growth boundaries even though it has not satisfied the demands of an order by the Eastern Washington hearings board regarding past expansions, Eichstaedt said. In its order, the hearings board gave Spokane County until May 15 to update its capital facilities plan, perform land quantity and population analyses and address storm water concerns in the Five Mile Prairie area.

Commissioner Todd Mielke said the county responded to the hearings board several weeks ago and proposed a timeline under which it could come into compliance. Mielke said the county proposed addressing all those demands during the course of updating its Comprehensive Plan, a process expected to be complete in December.

“We have responded and we’re now waiting for additional direction,” he said.

Mielke said Spokane County also is appealing aspects of the hearings board’s decision to Superior Court.

“There are specific aspects where we believe, Spokane County believes, the hearings board was flawed and either considered some information erroneously or failed to consider some information,” Mielke said.

Eichstaedt said an appeal does not excuse the lack of compliance.

“It’s erroneous to say we don’t have to follow the law because we filed an appeal,” he said. “They still have to follow the law until someone says otherwise.”

In addition, Eichstaedt said, the county shouldn’t be considering expanding the urban growth boundaries more until this matter is resolved. On Thursday, the county commissioners are scheduled to consider three additions to the urban growth boundaries.

“We just don’t see that the county is acting in good faith,” Eichstaedt said. “They’re continuing to process applications that fly in the face of the board’s order. This isn’t an action we take lightly. We don’t know what else to do.”

It will likely be several weeks before the Eastern Washington hearings board decides whether to request sanctions, Eichstaedt said.

In December 2004, Gov. Gary Locke ordered Snohomish County’s portion of the motor vehicle fuel tax withheld to force the county to comply with the orders of the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board, according to a news release from the governor’s office archives. That county took action shortly afterward to avoid the multimillion-dollar penalty, a Seattle newspaper reported.

Gov. Chris Gregoire has not imposed sanctions for non-compliance with the Growth Management Act.