In 2004, the King County Council passed a new set of land use regulations titled The Critical Areas Ordinance that severely limited what tens of thousands of property owners could do with developing their property.
Basically, if you owned between 1.25 and 5 acres, you had to leave 50% of your property covered in its “natural vegetationâ€. No big yards, no gravel driveways or parking areas, definitely no concrete slabs or structures. It was 35% if you owned more than five acres.
This sent land prices skyrocketing within the county and sent many more people outside of it to buy property.
It was done as blanket protection for streams, creeks and other items the County Council deemed “criticalâ€.
And yesterday, a three judge panel of the Washington State Appellate court unanimously tossed the ordinance out on its ear, stating that the county can only regulate specific areas pertaining to specific developments. No blanket ordinances allowed.
King County Executive, Ron “Tax to the Max†Sims had this to say
“We are still researching what today’s decision means for King County residents and government,” Sims said in the statement. “We will work with our attorneys to carefully review the decision and determine our next steps. One possible unintended consequence to this decision is that some property owners may face higher restrictions than those currently in place.”
There were five individual landowners involved with The Citizen’s Alliance for Property Rights who brought the suit.
I’ve got a fiver that says these folks will have a tough time getting permits.