Appellants say Redmond�permit to open 172nd Avenue violates SEPA and GMA; city contests forum

Jay Richard Ramberer, counsel for Friends of 172nd Avenue, told the appellate panel that the city of Redmondproposal to open a residential street would "turn a nearly 50 year old residential street which has never had these volumes of traffic into an arterial in King County." He told the court the "actions of the city and the county violated both SEPA and the GMA."

Oscar Ray, arguing for the city, countered that the dispute raised discrete legal questions subject to de novo review and emphasized the municipal authority to manage rights-of-way. Dan Carew, for King County, said the permit in question authorized traffic-calming devices and disputed that the county had approved removal of the gate.

The bench focused on where this dispute belongs: whether the issue is a site-specific, project-level permit to be resolved in superior court or a planning/regulatory matter within the Growth Management Hearings Board's jurisdiction. The parties debated statutory construction of RCW 36.70A.120 and whether the city's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) must be strictly consistent with the county's transportation needs report.

The court marked the matter "submitted" at the end of argument and took the case under advisement.