City of Union Gap v. Printing Press Properties, LLC

Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided January 25, 2018·No. 34740-1·Published

Opinion

FILED

JANUARY 25, 2018

In the Office of the Clerk of Court WA State Court of Appeals, Division III

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON DIVISION THREE

CITY OF UNION GAP, a municipal ) corporation of the State of Washington, ) No. 34740-1-III )

Appellant, )

)

v. )

) PUBLISHED OPINION PRINTING PRESS PROPERTIES, ) L.L.C., a Limited Liability Corporation ) registered and doing business in ) Washington State, )

)

Respondent. )

FEARING, C.J. — Plaintiff city of Union Gap and defendant Printing Press Properties, LLC, (Printing Press) scrimmage as to whether Printing Press may cut a curb and gain direct access to a major arterial from its land. The trial court granted Printing Press summary judgment and denied Union Gap an injunction to prohibit the access. Because Printing Press signed a development agreement granting Union Gap the prerogative to deny direct access to the arterial, we reverse and grant judgment to Union Gap.

FACTS

This lawsuit concerns Printing Press’ access to Valley Mall Boulevard, a new arterial, whose centerline often serves as the boundary between the cities of Yakima and

City of Union Gap v. Printing Press Properties, LLC

Union Gap. Union Gap, the original Yakima City, lies to the south of Yakima. The boulevard runs east-west and connects Interstate 82 and the Yakima Air Terminal, Yakima’s principal airport. Union Gap designed, constructed, and maintains the boulevard.

Printing Press owns commercial property abutting Valley Mall Boulevard and adjacent to the boulevard’s intersection with Longfibre Road. All of Printing Press’ land now lies within the Yakima City limits and north of the boulevard. Railroad tracks run north and south and lay directly east of Printing Press’ land. As part of the boulevard improvement, Union Gap constructed a bridge over the tracks.

Printing Press seeks to build direct access from its property to Valley Mall Boulevard. It labels this access as a “driveway.” The city of Union Gap, citing safety concerns, denied Printing Press’ application to create the driveway. Instead of appealing Union Gap’s denial of access, Printing Press withdrew its application and submitted the same proposal to the city of Yakima, which proposal Yakima approved. With this suit, Union Gap seeks to permanently enjoin Printing Press from cutting the boulevard curb such that a constructed driveway permits access on to the boulevard.

Before construction of Valley Mall Boulevard, Longfibre Road provided ingress and egress to Printing Press’ land via Washington Avenue, a major east-west arterial to the north of the boulevard. Printing Press’ land abuts Longfibre Road. Longfibre Road still connects Printing Press’ land to Washington Avenue and now connects the land to

City of Union Gap v. Printing Press Properties, LLC

the boulevard. Printing Press assigned some of its land to Lowe’s Home Improvement for a store. Printing Press and Lowe’s seek direct access to the boulevard.

Before commencing construction for Valley Mall Boulevard, Union Gap adopted city Ordinance 2123 to govern use of the future boulevard. The ordinance intended to provide coordinated standards for permitting access to the boulevard and to confirm that the access rights of abutting landowners are subordinate to the public’s right and interest in a safe and efficient arterial system. UNION GAP MUNICIPAL CODE (UGMC) 9.34.010. Union Gap Ordinance 2123 designated the boulevard as a “controlled access arterial” and permits driveway access to the boulevard only “when other alternatives such as an abutting public street or internal access road are not possible for access.” UGMC 9.34.060(a).

Union Gap possesses authority to condemn property outside its jurisdiction. RCW 8.12.030; In re Petition of City of Long Beach, 119 Wn. App. 628, 634, 82 P.3d 259 (2004). Nevertheless, to anticipatorily quell Yakima residents’ concerns about Union Gap’s control along Valley Mall Boulevard on Yakima’s side of the road, Union Gap and Yakima, on March 8, 2001, entered an interlocal agreement. The two had planned the boulevard since the late 1990s. The agreement in part reads:

This Interlocal Agreement is made by and between the CITY OF YAKIMA, a Washington municipal corporation, hereinafter “Yakima,” and the CITY OF UNION GAP, a Washington municipal corporation, hereinafter “Union Gap,” each being duly authorized and acting under the

City of Union Gap v. Printing Press Properties, LLC

laws of the State of Washington, pursuant to authority vested in each by the Interlocal Cooperation Act, RCW Chapter 39.34, as follows:

1. Union Gap is involved in the development of a project known as the “Valley Mall Boulevard Extension,” which is an effort to purchase right of way and construct an extension of Valley Mall Boulevard from its present location near the I-82 Interchange in Union Gap to the Yakima Air Terminal, some distance to the West. Yakima supports this project and has allocated $590,000.00 of federal highway safety funds for the project. The Valley Mall Boulevard project is a cooperative venture between the Washington State Department of Transportation, the City of Yakima, the City of Union Gap, and Yakima County. The project is of major significance to the entire region as it would provide an important direct link between the air terminal and the I-82 freeway.

2. Union Gap Ordinance No. 2271 authorized the Union Gap City Attorney to initiate condemnation proceedings for acquisition of the necessary right of way in Yakima County Superior Court Cause No. 01-2-

00041-1.

3. In the course of the hearing required for adjudication of use and necessity of this project, some land owners have argued that the Property sought to be condemned is located within the boundaries of the City of Yakima and not within the boundaries of the City of Union Gap. . . .

4. The parties hereto are authorized by RCW 39.34.030 to exercise their powers of condemnation jointly, and for that purpose, the City of Yakima herewith assigns to the City of Union Gap all of its authority and attendant ability to condemn the Property for the Valley Mall Boulevard Project, as described in Exhibit A. For these purposes, the City of Union Gap may act on behalf of the City of Yakima, in its place and stead, in the negotiation for, condemnation and acquisition of the Property located within the boundaries of the City of Yakima.

5. As partial consideration for this joint undertaking, Union Gap shall protect, defend, indemnify, and hold Yakima harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, liens, liabilities, penalties, fines, lawsuits, and other proceedings and costs and expenses (including attorney’s fees and disbursements), which accrue to or are incurred by Yakima on or after execution of this Interlocal Agreement and arise directly or indirectly from or out of, relate to, or in any way are connected with (1) The eminent domain proceedings or any related actions contemplated by this Interlocal Agreement.

City of Union Gap v. Printing Press Properties, LLC

(2) Challenges concerning the legal authority to enter into or implement this lnterlocal Agreement or the ordinance authorizing condemnation.

....

(5) The design, construction, reconstruction, installation, repair, maintenance, operation, alteration, or modification of the Valley Mall Boulevard street and transportation improvements (or other public improvements) on the property . . . .

....

7. Yakima and Union Gap agree that this Interlocal Agreement shall have an indefinite duration and cannot be terminated unless both parties consent in writing to such termination.

Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 249-51. Yakima passed and adopted the interlocal agreement as a city ordinance on March 6, 2001.

In a declaration in support of Printing Press’ summary judgment motion, Yakima City Attorney Jeff Cutter expounded on Yakima’s view of the agreement. Although Cutter interpreted the agreement to authorize Union Gap to act as Yakima’s agent, he declared that the:

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