A recent case showed that sometimes an agency that does not have the usual association with land use decisions may nonetheless make land use decisions that can only be challenged under the Land Use Petition Act which has a very short 21 day period for filing such challenges. In this case a rural homeowner bought an RV for use by overnight guests and put in a holding tank for wastewater. State law says that holding tanks are illegal for residential purposes but the county health board can grant waivers of this provision on a case by case basis. The homeowner asked the health board for a waiver but was turned down on the basis that it was perfectly feasible for him to expand his existing septic system or put in a new one just for the RV. About two months later the homeowner filed a lawsuit in superior court, challenging the sections of the county code under which the county health board had denied his request for a waiver. The Court of Appeals decided that since the effect of the health board's decision was to regulate the homeowner's use of his land, that decision was a "land use decision" that could only be appealed under the Land Use Petition Act. Since the lawsuit was filed more than 21 days after the denial of the waiver request, the homeowner was out of time and his arguments could not be heard. The court has said that "even illegal decisions must be challenged in a timely, appropriate manner." So it is important in deciding to challenge government administrative action to decide whether that action is a land use decision that is subject to the shorter appeal period, rather than other types that are subject to a thirty day period.
The preceding is for instruction and should not be considered legal advice. Please see my website at http://www.seattle-realestate-lawyer.com/aspx/m/Real-Estate
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