City attorney briefs council on multiple Growth Management appeals and estimated costs to taxpayers

City Attorney Darcy Swetnam gave a detailed briefing on appeals the City of Anacortes is defending, including local appeals to SEPA determinations and several petitions consolidated before the Western Region Growth Management Hearings Board.

Swetnam identified two local appeals challenging the SEPA DNS for the city's 2025 stormwater master plan and multiple petitions challenging the 2025 comp plan and development regulation update (ordinances 5013 and 5014). Appellants have framed issues around public participation requirements (citing RCW language about meaningful early and continuous participation), GMA Goal 4 (housing), GMA Goal 10 (environment/SEPA), infrastructure funding analysis under GMA Goal 12, and whether the city impermissibly relied on a 2010 shoreline master plan for SEPA review. Swetnam said the consolidated merits hearing was tentatively scheduled for June 10, 2026, but that dates can shift as the board issues updated pre‑hearing orders.

Swetnam also reviewed the city’s recent history of appeals and litigation in planning matters and provided a cost estimate for defense work since 2020: about $232,000 in outside counsel and attorney time billed to date, plus substantial staff time from planning and legal staff. She told council that some appeals have required outside counsel and that defending consolidated cases may require a budget amendment if the matter advances to Thurston County Superior Court or the Court of Appeals. "There has not been a single issue on any of these cases on which Mr. Munce has had an order in his favor," Swetnam said, summarizing past outcomes and the city's prevailing record in prior challenges.

Council members asked whether the city can recover attorney fees when it prevails; Swetnam said fee recovery is available in some litigation types but cautioned that pursuing fees can itself be time‑consuming and may discourage legitimate appeals. The council accepted the briefing and moved to executive session for a potential real estate transaction under the statutory citation read aloud.