Seattle Press on Line - Judge Blocks Building in Creek Buffer in Shoreline

Thornton Creek

Judge Blocks Building in Creek Buffer in Shoreline

Apr 18, 2001 -- On April 11, Superior Court Judge David Erlich blocked Aegis Corporation and the City of Shoreline from proceeding with construction of an assisted living facility on the banks of Thornton Creek in Shoreline. (See The Seattle Press, March 21 issue).

Creek advocates Jim and Patty Crawford, who live in the neighborhood, filed suit after the city issued permits to let Aegis build close to the creek edge, within the 100-foot buffer zone mandated by state regulations to protect stream quality.

Ehrlich threw out most of the developer's arguments and remanded the case back to the city hearing officer who had dismissed the Crawford's original appeal.

The Crawfords spent $40,000 of their own money to file the suit, hiring attorney Claudia Newman. They argued that the construction and subsequent use of the building would irreparably damage Thornton Creek.

Aegis claimed that the city's exemptions were justified by hardship to their firm. But observers quoted Judge Ehrlich as responding, "Just claiming you are hardshipped because you can't build the enormous project you want without encroaching into the buffer does not establish hardship. Simply stating you need such a high density on a project to make it financially viable does not establish hardship either."

Erlich said the city should have explored alternative designs that wouldn't encroach on the buffer to such a degree.

When the judge asked why Aegis couldn't simply build higher, and asked what height restrictions applied, neither Aegis attorneys nor Shoreline officials had an answer.

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