Thurston County v. Cooper Point Ass'n

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court held that Thurston County’s proposed sewer-line extension from an urban wastewater treatment system into the rural Cooper Point area constituted an extension or expansion of an urban governmental service under RCW 36.70A.110(4). The court further held that the County had not shown the extension was necessary to protect basic public health, safety, and the environment, and affirmed the Court of Appeals. The court denied respondents’ request for attorney fees because no development permit involving a site-specific land-use decision was at issue.

Holdings

1. The proposed sewer line was an extension or expansion of an urban governmental service because it would connect the urban LOTT sewage system to an area it did not currently serve and would potentially add up to 100 residential hookups.
2. The Cooper Point peninsula, including the Tamoshan and Beverly Beach subdivisions, was rural within the meaning of RCW 36.70A.110(4).
3. The term necessary in RCW 36.70A.110(4) has a restrictive meaning consistent with an indispensable or absolutely required measure, and the County did not show that the sewer extension was necessary to protect basic public health, safety, and the environment.
4. The respondents were not entitled to attorney fees under RCW 4.84.370 because no development permit involving a site-specific land-use determination was at issue.

Questions Presented

1. Whether RCW 36.70A.110(4) applies to the County's proposed sewer line as an extension or expansion of an urban governmental service into a rural area.
2. Whether the Cooper Point peninsula is a rural area within the meaning of RCW 36.70A.110(4).
3. Whether the County established that the proposed sewer extension was necessary to protect basic public health, safety, and the environment.
4. Whether the respondents were entitled to attorney fees under RCW 4.84.370.

Disposition

affirmed