Articles

Author: Brian T. Hodges Washington’s Growth Management Act is a mess. The Act directs local government to continually adopt new land use regulations designed to accomplish a whole host of inconsistent goals. Most notably, the GMA requires that local governments periodically update their critical area regulations – regardless of whether an u ...

Author: Brian T. Hodges On Monday, Fox & Friends aired an interview with PLF client Vicki Luhrs about her 10 year struggle to save her Lummi Island home from shoreline erosion.  See PLF's media advisory here. In 1992, Vicki and her husband bought their dream retirement property. Their home sits above a coastal bluff with … ...

Author: Brian T. Hodges The Ninth Circuit set Leu v. International Boundary Commission for oral argument on May 5, 2010 in Seattle. In 2006, retired couple Shirley and Herbert Leu built a small garden retaining wall in their back yard to stop their soil from wasting into a ditch. They had no idea that they … ...

Author: Brian T. Hodges Earlier today, Washington’s Supreme Court granted review of a petition asking whether the Legislature can enact a bill that would operate retroactively to wipe out several years of final judicial decisions. Last year, Pacific Legal Foundation successfully argued that Kitsap County, Wash. failed to comply with the ...

Author:Brian T. Hodges A panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard oral argument in Leu v. International Boundary Commission – a case that has been typified by truly bizarre twists. If you recall, this is the case where the U.S. Commissioner to the International Boundary Commission ordered retired couple Shi ...

Author:  Brian T. Hodges Earlier today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Leu v. International Boundary Commission. As you undoubtedly recall, this is the case where former International Boundary Commissioner Dennis Schornack claimed that President Bush lacked the power to terminate his appointment as a commissioner. Th ...

Author: Brian T. Hodges Dateline 1992. In a story entitled, "Local Land-Use Issues Attract Law Group," the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported that Pacific Legal Foundation was opening a regional office in the Pacific Northwest "to wage court battles over property rights and environmental regulations." The article concluded by q ...

Authors: Daniel Himebaugh & Taylor Wilson A few months ago, this blog called attention to Seattle's "exceptional tree" ordinance.  We predicted that it was only a matter of time before a hapless Seattle homeowner was prosecuted for tampering with trees that the city considers special, even if those trees grew on private prop ...

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