Articles

PLF attorneys ask Washington Supreme Court to protect property owners from San Juan County land grab

October 02, 2015 | By BRIAN HODGES

Washington’s “growth management” approach to regulating land-use adjacent to environmentally sensitive areas relies almost exclusively on presumptions and generalizations—demanding that landowners dedicate oversized buffers based on assumed impacts rather than any actual determination that a proposed development will or will not ...

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Fighting to protect San Juan property owners from land grab

March 06, 2015 | By BRIAN HODGES

Yesterday, PLF attorneys filed an amicus brief in support of San Juan County’s shoreline property owners in the case, Common Sense Alliance v. Growth Management Hearings Board. At issue is San Juan County’s update to its critical areas ordinance, which, in part, conditions approval of any new development of a shoreline property upon the ...

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Washington trial court fumbles the ball in a post-Koontz case

June 24, 2014 | By BRIAN HODGES

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District last year, I have been on a speaking tour with a prominent government attorney, discussing the case’s impact on Washington law. One important point on which we both agreed was that Koontz clarified that an unlawful exactions case falls within the … ...

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Seattle’s wheel of irony

June 26, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Seattle’s newest waterfront attraction, the so-called “Great Wheel,” is a sadly ironic reminder of how truly messed up our priorities are in the Pacific Northwest.  At the same time that we are glorying at the Great Wheel, local governments across the state are adopting shoreline regulations declaring waterfront homes “non ...

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U.S. Supreme Court declines review of PLF’s big buffer case

March 26, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Earlier today, the U.S. Supreme Court denied PLF’s petition for a writ of certiorari in the case, Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners v. Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board.  The petition asked the Court to consider whether a Kitsap County regulation requiring that shoreline property owners who seek building permits dedicate ...

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Fighting Washington’s shoreline land grab

January 24, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Washington’s state and local governments are determined to take control over privately owned shorelines away from property owners. Over the past several years, we have seen wave after wave of regulations trying to claim the shorelines. The most recent regulatory push has targeted the permit process as the best opportunity for the government ...

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KAPO’s cert petition is catching attention

December 23, 2011 | By BRIAN HODGES

Earlier this year, PLF filed a petition for a writ certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case, Kitsap Alliance for Property Owners v. Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board.  The petition asks the Court to review a Washington appellate decision holding that a county can force landowners to dedicate large tracts of private & ...

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PLF asks U.S. Supreme Court to review big buffer case

October 11, 2011 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brian T. Hodges Earlier today, PLF filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case, Kitsap Alliance for Property Owners v. Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board.  The petition asks the Court to review a Washington appellate decision holding that a city or county can force … ...

Articles

Growth management ruling exposes Washington’s east/west divide

July 29, 2011 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Author: Brian T. Hodges Washington’s Growth Management Act (GMA) envisions a scheme where every city and county, in every nook and cranny of the state, adopts land use regulations responsive to a host of general societal interests  (e.g, affordable housing, preserving property rights, protecting rural lands from urban development, prote ...