Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority v. Miller

128 P.3d 588, 156 Wash. 2d 403, 2006 Wash. LEXIS 180
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 16, 2006
DocketNo. 76284-8
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 128 P.3d 588 (Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority v. Miller) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority v. Miller, 128 P.3d 588, 156 Wash. 2d 403, 2006 Wash. LEXIS 180 (Wash. 2006).

Opinions

¶1 — Kenneth R. Miller, Barbara I. Miller, and Miller Building Enterprises, Inc., a construction company (hereinafter collectively Miller), own a large parcel of land in Tacoma near a railroad line. Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, commonly known as Sound Transit, seeks to condemn this property to build a park- and-ride for a commuter rail transit station. To do so, Sound Transit must establish, among other things, that the condemnation is necessary. Whether condemnation is necessary is a legislative judgment. Courts will overturn that legislative judgment only when the challenger can prove [407]*407that it is the product of actual fraud, or is arbitrary and capricious enough to constitute constructive fraud, or when the government fails to abide by the clear dictates of the law.

Fairhurst, J.

[407]*407¶2 After extensive research and solicitation of community opinion, several potential sites were identified. Sound Transit held a public hearing to determine which proposed site to use for the rail station. By law, potential condemnees are not entitled to actual individualized notice. Instead, Washington law requires that agencies develop procedures to give reasonable notice of these meetings to the public, which may include informing the local media. Sound Transit has elected to implement this statutory discretion by posting meeting times and agendas on its web site. It does not directly notify the media.

¶3 The primary issue for review is whether Sound Transit’s method of notifying the public of its meetings is adequate. Alternately, Miller challenges the substantive decision that public necessity for the condemnation exists. We hold that Sound Transit complied with statutory requirements in notifying the public of its meetings and that Sound Transit’s determination of necessity is not the product of actual or constructive fraud. We affirm the trial court.

I. FACTS

¶4 In 1992, in an effort to respond to the increasing traffic congestion in the Puget Sound region, the Washington Legislature authorized the state’s largest counties to seek voter approval to create regional transportation entities to coordinate efforts to create and maintain a healthy transportation infrastructure. RCW 81.112.010. These transit authorities were given all powers necessary to implement and support a high capacity transportation system, including the power to condemn private property. RCW 81.112.070, .080(2). Four years later, voters in the Puget Sound region approved the creation and funding of Sound Transit. Among its other projects, Sound Transit is [408]*408attempting to make commuter rail an alternative to commuters along the 1-5 corridor.

¶5 Currently, commuter rail runs from downtown Tacoma to downtown Seattle. This case involves Sound Transit’s efforts to extend the line south. In 1998, Sound Transit began to investigate possible sites for a new transit station in South Tacoma or Lakewood. In 1999, workshops and public meetings were held in Tacoma to determine the best way to proceed and the best potential sites for transit stations. By 2001, three different possible sites had been identified. One of the sites near South Tacoma Way and South 60th in Tacoma involved a large piece of property owned by Miller. The Miller property would be able to provide about 85 percent of the space needed for a park-and--ride. While the site is apparently contaminated with industrial waste, it appears that it can safely be used as a parking lot.

f 6 In the first three years of the site investigation, Miller cooperated with Sound Transit in the possible condemnation action. In 2001, Miller executed a release that allowed Sound Transit to enter the property to survey and take soil samples. Meanwhile, in June 2003, Sound Transit scheduled a public board of directors meeting to discuss which of three sites in the area was best suited for the transit center. Notice of this meeting and its agenda were published on the Sound Transit web site, but it appears that no other steps were taken to inform the community of the upcoming meeting. A Sound Transit employee testified that it was considered “unseemly” to notify property owners individually that a state agency is considering condemning their property before a decision had been made. 1 Verbatim Report of Proceedings (VRP) (Oct. 25, 2004) at 31. Sound Transit’s internal rules recite that:

Whenever feasible, the Board Administrator shall furnish the Agenda for meetings of the Board and Committees to one or more local newspapers of general circulation in advance of such meetings.

[409]*409Ex. 14, at 12. According to Marcia Walker, the administrator to the board of Sound Transit, “[t]he way that [Sound Transit] furnish [es] the agenda and materials to the public and media is by posting on the website.” 1 VRP at 101. Walker testified that this method had been used to provide notice ever since Sound Transit had a web site. The trial court specifically found that the method satisfied both statutory requirements and Sound Transit’s internal rules.

¶7 At the public board of directors meeting, the plan that included the Miller property (along with others) was selected. The record indicates this was motivated in part by the fact that no overpass would have to be built over the railroad tracks and all parking could be consolidated in one lot, which would be simpler to control and secure. Sound Transit then instituted condemnation proceedings against all of the selected properties. On July 10, 2003, Miller was served with a formal notice of intent to acquire property. In August 2004, Miller was served with the petition in eminent domain. The public use and necessity hearing was held on October 25 and November 1, 2005, in Pierce County Superior Court.

¶8 At the public use and necessity hearing, Miller resisted the condemnation and challenged the board of directors’ determination that the condemnation of their property was necessary. Miller argued that the agency had improperly rejected other sites on the erroneous belief that they were environmentally contaminated and had overlooked the value of a building on their property, which has the apparent distinction of being the first house built along a railroad right-of-way in Tacoma. The trial court concluded that Sound Transit had given proper notice, had established public use and necessity, and that the condemnation action could proceed to the just compensation stage. The trial court explicitly rejected Miller’s claim that the action [410]*410was arbitrary and capricious or the product of fraud. Miller sought direct review, which we granted.1

II. ISSUES

A. Did Sound Transit adequately notify the community of the meeting agenda where the necessity for condemning the property would be discussed?

B. Did Miller establish that Sound Transit committed actual or constructive fraud in determining that there was public necessity for condemning the Miller property?

III. ANALYSIS

¶9 We first briefly review the underlying law. The power of eminent domain is an inherent attribute of sovereignty. Boom Co. v. Patterson, 98 U.S. (8 Otto) 403, 406, 25 L. Ed. 206 (1878);

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
128 P.3d 588, 156 Wash. 2d 403, 2006 Wash. LEXIS 180, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/central-puget-sound-regional-transit-authority-v-miller-wash-2006.