Center seeks a mandamus action to require Spokane County to enforce its Critical Areas Ordinance.
In the latest twist in the long-running land use dispute involving McGlades Restaurant in north Spokane County, the Center for Justice has gone to court to try to compel a county official to enforce the county’s Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO).
The petition for a writ of mandamus against county planning director John Pederson was filed Thursday on behalf of Dan Henderson and three other county residents who own property near the restaurant, which is located in the town of Colbert along U.S. Highway 2.
A writ of mandamus is a rarely-used legal initiative that is being sought, in this instance, to spur Pederson to enforce rules
that, according to the Center’s petition and supporting documents, should force McGlades to halt daily waste water discharges from the business that exceed the amounts allowed under the ordinance.
“This case is about ensuring that our county officials actually enforcethe law,” says Center attorney Rick Eichstaedt. “A law that goes unenforced is really no law at all. Our aquifer is at risk if we continue to have our county officials ignore their responsibility by not enforcing the requirements of the Critical Areas Ordinance.”
McGlades is located in an area that the County has designated as a critical aquifer recharge area. In its petition, the Center contends that under the county’s CAO, non-residential developments outside the county’s urban growth areas must use an “enhanced waste-water disposal system” if they dispose of more than 90 gallons per day per acre. According to the Center’s petition, McGlades “discharges significantly more than 90 gallons per day per acre.”
The petition is accompanied by a sworn declaration from CFJ Legal Intern Chris Longman who conducted a public records search to determine what, if anything, Pederson or other county officials had done to enforce the CAO waste water restrictions that apply to McGlades. Based on his review, Longman stated, he was provided “no information that enforcement against McGlades restaurant had taken place.”
“The neighbors who live around McGlades have been trying for months and months to get the County to require the restaurant to follow the law,” says Eichstaedt. “They are simply trying to ensure that McGlades, like everyone else, is required to follow the law. No one deserves special treatment when it comes to something as important as protecting our aquifer.”
Formally, the petition for the writ of mandamus asks that the court issue the writ to require Pederson “to perform his enforcement duties and to immediately notify McGlade’s Restaurant that it is in violation” of the pertinent provisions of the Critical Areas Ordinance.
–CFJ
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