Articles

Coastal property rights : a view from the Northwest

December 03, 2013 | By BRIAN HODGES

We don’t have the California Coastal Commission in the Pacific Northwest, but we still face plenty of problems with the government on our (rocky) beaches.  Here are three examples: Luhrs v. Whatcom County—Attorneys with PLF’s Northwest Center recently represented Lummi Island property owner Victoria Luhrs in her struggle to obtain th ...

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What to expect from PLF's Northwest Center for the rest of 2012

June 13, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

We had a great time reliving the Pacific Northwest Center’s 20 years of victories at our celebration last week, but now many of you are wondering what’s next for us.  Here’s a quick summary of the major cases being litigated from the PNW office that could see some action throughout the summer and fall: U.S. … ...

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20 years of Pacific Northwest victories : the enduring impact of the HEAL decision

May 15, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

One way that PLF can assure that its property rights victories have a long-lasting impact is to “connect the dots” between past cases and current controversies.  A good example is the Washington Court of Appeals’ 1999 decision in Honesty In Environmental Analysis and Legislation v. Seattle, which stands out as the first Washingto ...

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20 years of Pacific Northwest victories : the garden wall that sparked an "international" incident

April 04, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

It probably goes on record as one of the most bizarre phone calls the Northwest Center has ever received.  A few years ago, border-town retirees Herbert and Shirley Leu dialed our number to ask us what they should do about threats they were receiving from a little-known “international” agency that accused them of having violated ̷ ...

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20 years of Pacific Northwest victories : stopping King County's land grab

March 21, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

We continue our survey of PLF’s Pacific Northwest victories with Citizens’ Alliance for Property Rights v. Sims, the lawsuit that put an end to King County, Washington’s campaign to force rural landowners to dedicate huge portions of their property to the government. In 2004, King County enacted a “critical areas” ordi ...

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20 years of Pacific Northwest victories : supporting mining in Alaska

March 07, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

Over the past 20 years, attorneys at PLF’s Pacific Northwest Center have written hundreds of amicus briefs in important, precedent-setting cases.  One of those cases was Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009. After almost 70 years of dormancy, the Kensington Gold Mine near June ...

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20 years of Pacific Northwest victories : fighting Seattle’s housing preservation laws

March 06, 2012 | By BRIAN HODGES

In one of our earliest efforts in the Pacific Northwest, PLF participated in several cases challenging the constitutionality of a Seattle ordinance that severely restricted the use of low income rental properties. Throughout the 1980s, the City of Seattle, faced with a booming redevelopment market, adopted a series of ordinances that were intended ...