beyond the legal opinion
October 8, 2013
Opening statements at the Pollution Control Hearings Board laid out the arguments of the numerous appellants. The local governments argued that while LID techniques are effective in many applications, the MS4 Permit (“Permit”) lacks reasonable standards for when not to use…
October 6, 2013
Monday, October 7, the curtain goes up on the next act in the long running Washington stormwater imbroglio. What is different this time is that five counties, twenty-five cities, and the Washington State Department of Transportation (“WSDOT”) oppose the Department…
June 3, 2013
The 2013 Legislature continues in special session to resolve differences between the House and Senate budgets. This 30-day special session is set to conclude by June 12, although no budget breakthrough appears imminent. Sources keep whispering about the possibility of…
April 19, 2013
House Bill 1074 which extends plats up to a maximum of ten years was signed by Governor Inslee yesterday at 1:30. As previously discussed here and here on this blog, this bill extends plats up to a maximum of ten years. Unlike previous bills it applies to plats…
April 19, 2013
I went to NAOIP’s excellent breakfast series yesterday morning entitled “The Regional Retail Market: What’s Next?” that had several nuggets and take aways. On the panel was Fred Bruning, CEO of CenterCal, Mark New, of New and Neville Real Estate Services, and Cori…
April 15, 2013
House Bill 1652 just passed out of the Washington Senate in a 34-14 vote with strong bi-partisan support. The bill was amended to clarify that jurisdictions already deferring impact fees were exempt from implementing an impact fee deferral program. The bill moves back to…
April 10, 2013
In yet more positive news for the housing industry in the Portland/Vancouver Metropolitan region, building permits are up in Clark County and Oregon. Oregon’s five month average exceeded 1,100 permits for the first time since July 2008. Clark County’s numbers, while well short of that…
April 9, 2013
Remember the big picture. This phrase became indelibly etched on my mind by my father when I began learning the craft of being an attorney. Just before the last real estate recession, many people who were trying to make a…
April 9, 2013
The Washington Senate just unanimously passed House Bill 1074 (47 for, 2 absent). The Senate did not amend the bill. It now moves to the Governor’s desk for signature. We will keep you posted on when the Governor signs the bill…
April 9, 2013
Here is a good article from the Vancouver Business Journal on the status of the stormwater lawsuits involving Clark County. It also mentions this letter that Clark County received from Maia Bellon, Washington Department of Ecology’s new director, who is getting Ecology back…
