beyond the legal opinion
August 11, 2014
By Doug Cushing From the Jordan Ramis Archives Kermit says, "it's not easy being green," but that's changing rapidly in the evolving world of environmentally friendly construction. Newspaper and magazine articles report the opening of new environmentally sound buildings, and…
June 23, 2014
The economy’s emerging recovery is causing many businesses to increase the pace of their transactions. In the race to show good faith and serious intent to proceed with deals (including, but not limited to, the sale or lease of real…
June 18, 2014
It is not news that the continuing difficulty faced by real estate developers in obtaining traditional bank loans to finance projects has slowed the pace of development. With bank loans proving scarce for all but the most robust development outfits,…
June 18, 2014
The United States Supreme Court recently issued its unanimous decision in Sackett v. EPA.The Court found that Michael and Chantell Sackett had the right, pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (the "APA"), to seek judicial review of a compliance order issued…
June 18, 2014
By Tim Ramis Spring 2012 No other area of the country can match our region's depth of experience with building livable cities. In virtually all areas of city building, the planning jurisdictions of this metropolitan area have been innovators. They…
June 18, 2014
By Scott Anders Summer 2012 Some wisecracking congressional observer once said that getting legislation through Congress is like mating elephants: It's done at a very high level, it's done with a lot of screaming and yelling, and it takes at…
June 18, 2014 by James D. Howsley
By Jamie Howsley Fall 2012 A few years ago I wrote an article entitled "Demographics, Development and Demand," in which I predicted a return of the housing market by late 2010. Well we all make mistakes. But the underlying theory…
June 18, 2014
By Scott Anders Fall 2012 Similar to the nonsensical, contradicting, and redundant situations faced by Milo Minderbinder and his cohorts in Joseph Heller's classic, Catch 22, the building community in Southwest Washington is about to face nonsensical and redundant requirements costing substantially…
June 18, 2014 by James D. Howsley
By Jamie Howsley Spring 2013 A very fascinating case announced on Valentine's Day by Division III of the Washington Court of Appeals denied "a mulligan" to a group of property owners seeking to keep open a golf course located adjacent…
June 18, 2014 by James D. Howsley
By Jamie Howsley Spring 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…
