Everett appeals ruling against its shoreline plan - Growth hearings board wrong, asserts city

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF

2/25/03

EVERETT, WA-- The city of Everett has appealed a state ruling that parts of the city's new shoreline plan didn't go far enough in protecting wetlands and wildlife habitat.

The city's shoreline plan was originally challenged by a coalition of residents and environmental groups who didn't want to see marinas on sensitive mudflats and development on other biologically rich shorelines.

The city's appeal, filed in Snohomish County Superior Court on Friday, argues that the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board was wrong in concluding earlier this year that preservation and restoration should be the overriding priority in deciding how shorelines develop.

Because Everett is the first of roughly 200 cities to update its shoreline plan under new laws, it is seen as a test case in determining how cities will be required to balance competing interests. Other parties could also file appeals before the early March deadline.