The hearing schedule for Regatta Estates’ Land Use Petition Act (LUPA) appeal in Snohomish County Superior Court has set. This appeal challenges PDS’s approval of developer Lennar’s design change that deleted approximately 200 trees required by the Hearing Examiner for screening. This allowed Lennar to construct a cheaper retaining wall and increase its profits, at the expense of its neighbors and the public traveling on Picnic Point Road.
September 8, 2022 at 1pm—Initial Hearing (where the defendants Lennar and Snohomish County can raise various defenses)
October 21, 2022—Production of County’s administrative record
October 31, 2022—Regatta’s deadline to supplement the record (e.g., with any new material that we want the judge to consider)
November 15, 2022—deadline for Regatta’s opening brief
December 6, 2022—deadline for the response briefs of the county and Lennar
December 13, 2022—deadline for Regatta’s reply brief
December 20, 2022 at 9:30 am—hearing on the merits (where we argue our case orally)
The County says that it will be filing one motion to “dismiss for consideration” at the September 8 initial hearing, seeking to kick out Regatta’s challenge to the two building permits originally challenged by Regatta Estates, but not to challenge Regatta’s appeal of the revised landscaping plan. The two permits that Snohomish County wants removed includes internal retaining walls that were originally constructed without permits. The internal retaining walls between lots would have to be removed too, in order to construct the tree-screened retaining wall that the County originally approved for construction, by Lennar changed in order to boost its profits.
The Sno-King Watershed Council is supporting Regatta’s LUPA appeal, but our legal funds are limited. So if you can, please contribute to SKWC’s legal defense fund at https://snokingwatershedcouncil.org/donations/ so we can keep the County from bending the rules for its favorite developer’s profit.
https://snohomishcountywa.gov/Directory.aspx?DID=111