Ks Tacoma Holdings v. Shorelines Hearings

272 P.3d 876
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 24, 2012
Docket41361-2-II
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 272 P.3d 876 (Ks Tacoma Holdings v. Shorelines Hearings) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ks Tacoma Holdings v. Shorelines Hearings, 272 P.3d 876 (Wash. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

272 P.3d 876 (2012)
166 Wash.App. 117

KS TACOMA HOLDINGS, LLC, Appellant.
v.
SHORELINES HEARINGS BOARD; David Murphy; Murphy Varey, P.S.; Site-4 Foss Waterway, LLC; Hollander Investments, INC.; and City of Tacoma, Respondents.

No. 41361-2-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

January 24, 2012.

*879 David Alan Bricklin, Claudia Macintosh Newman, Bricklin & Newman, LLP, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.

Molly Anne Lawrence, Duncan McGehee Greene, GordonDerr LLP, Seattle, WA, Jeff H. Capell, City of Tacoma Atty Office, Tacoma, WA, for Respondents.

VAN DEREN, J.

¶ 1 KS Tacoma Holdings appeals the Shorelines Hearings Board's summary judgment order in favor of Hollander Investments and the city of Tacoma (City). The Board's summary judgment order found KS Tacoma did not have standing to appeal a permit revision granted to Hollander for development on the Thea Foss Waterway in Tacoma, Washington. Because KS Tacoma did not raise any genuine issue of material fact precluding summary judgment on the issue of its standing, we affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2 This appeal concerns proposed development on the Thea Foss Waterway in Tacoma, Washington. The Thea Foss Waterway consists of approximately 3.5 miles of shoreline adjacent to downtown Tacoma. The Thea Foss Waterway is an important development area for the City because of its proximity to the central business district, Union Station, the Tacoma Dome, and the port industrial area. AR 398. The record in this case indicates:

The [Thea Foss] Waterway visually and physically connects surrounding districts. The Waterway's historic past and working waterfront, combined with new cultural, recreational, residential, office and retail uses, will create a lively, urban environment. A linear waterfront park will link together a variety of attractive, ground level public activities and uses accessible to all of Tacoma's citizens and to the region.

Administrative Record (AR) at 396. At one time, Thea Foss Waterway was a federally designated Superfund[1] site but the City's comprehensive design and development plan has envisioned "turn[ing] Thea Foss Waterway into a showcase for Tacoma" through coordinated environmental clean-up efforts and mixed-use public and private development. AR at 396. Toward that goal, the City has constructed a 120-foot wide public esplanade adjoining the waterway and has facilitated the development of the Museum of Glass and residential buildings such as Albers Mill Lofts, the Esplanade, and Thea's Landing.

¶ 3 On February 9, 2007, the City approved a shoreline substantial development permit (2007 SSDP) authorizing the construction of a 120,000 square foot mixed-use building that included 100 hotel rooms, 22 residential units, and retail/commercial uses on vacant property at "Foss Site-4." AR at 573. Foss Site-4 is located between the Esplanade building, which contains 176 condominium units and a restaurant, and the Thea's Landing building, which contains 236 residential units and retail space.

¶ 4 KS Tacoma owns the Hotel Murano, which is located approximately five city blocks from Foss Site-4. KS Tacoma did not appeal the 2007 SSDP. On March 27, 2008, the City approved a permit revision that *880 decreased the number of residential units to 16 and increased the number of hotel rooms to 160. KS Tacoma did not appeal the 2008 permit revision.

¶ 5 Sometime after the City approved the first permit revision, Hollander purchased Foss Site-4. Hollander applied for a second permit revision (2009 revision), which the City approved on December 17, 2009. The 2009 revision eliminated the 16 remaining residential units and increased the number of hotel rooms to 256. The 2009 revision also changed the configuration of the building, replacing the single tower in the original design with two towers connected on the first floor by a single story structure. Additionally, the 2009 revision increased the first floor space by five percent,[2] and increased the total floor space from 180,000 square feet to 213,000 square feet.

¶ 6 On January 8, 2010, KS Tacoma filed a petition for review of the City's approval of the 2009 revision, asserting that it was inconsistent with the Shorelines Management Act (SMA)[3] and the City's Shoreline Master Program.[4] AR 1-8. On March 11, 2010, Hollander and the City brought summary judgment motions to dismiss KS Tacoma's petition for review, asserting that KS Tacoma lacked standing to challenge the 2009 revision. Hollander and the City also argued that several of KS Tacoma's contentions were not properly before the Board because they sought to challenge the 2007 SSDP, which KS Tacoma did not appeal.

¶ 7 On June 10, 2010, the Board issued an order dismissing KS Tacoma's petition for lack of standing. In reaching its decision, the Board stated that it considered only alleged injuries stemming from the 2009 revision because KS Tacoma did not appeal the original 2007 SSDP or the 2008 revision. The Board found that KS Tacoma's asserted injuries to its recreation, view, and aesthetic interests were experienced by third parties and that the general standing doctrine did not allow KS Tacoma "to establish standing by asserting other's legal rights." AR at 561.

¶ 8 Alternatively, the Board found that, even if it were to consider the alleged injuries to third parties, KS Tacoma failed to establish that the 2009 revision would cause any cognizable harm to those interests. The Board further ruled that "[t]he only injury specific to KS Tacoma is the impact the corporation claims to its reputation, tenor of the community, and diminished future investment," and that this claimed injury is "both speculative and economic and fail[s] to form the basis for KS Tacoma's standing." AR at 567.

¶ 9 KS Tacoma unsuccessfully moved for reconsideration of the Board order dismissing its petition for lack of standing. In its order denying reconsideration, the Board clarified its previous decision:

The Board is not ruling that a corporation could never assert a concrete injury within the zone of interests protected by the SMA. The Board, however, is ruling that a corporation must establish a specific injury that is related to an identifiable corporate interest or right protected by the environmental law at issue.

AR at 575. The Board's order denying reconsideration also reiterated that KS Tacoma had failed to establish associational standing and, thus, it could not assert the interests of third parties to establish its standing to appeal the 2009 revision.[5]

¶ 10 On August 24, 2010, KS Tacoma appealed the Board's orders to Thurston County Superior Court. Hollander and the City applied for direct review to this court under RCW 34.05.518. On October 22, 2010, the Board entered an order granting a certificate of appealability, and we accepted direct review.

*881 ANALYSIS

I. Standard of Review

¶ 1 The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), chapter 34.05 RCW, controls our review of agency actions, including that of the Board. Former RCW 90.58.180(3) (2003); Batchelder v. City of Seattle, 77 Wash.App. 154, 158, 890 P.2d 25 (1995). In reviewing an agency action, we apply the APA standards directly to the agency record. Burnham v. Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs., 115 Wash.App.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
272 P.3d 876, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ks-tacoma-holdings-v-shorelines-hearings-washctapp-2012.