On July 9, a Hearing Examiner ruled that county staff can set aside the road standards written into our own code — and approve development anyway. We’re taking it to a judge. That costs money, and it’s money none of us has alone.
For the attorney and court costs to appeal this decision. Any amount helps — and every dollar is accounted for.
Donate on GoFundMe →This is a personal fundraiser, not a registered charity — donations are not tax-deductible.
Washington law was supposed to prevent exactly this. It’s called concurrency, and it’s simple: don’t approve the homes until the roads can carry them. Roads and rooftops together. Clark County’s own code puts a hard line on it — a corridor is failing once it carries more than 90% of the traffic it can handle. NE 179th and the Salmon Creek area are already past that line. Under the plain words of the code, that means stop approving.
We took it to a hearing. The rule is written down. The roads already fail. It was about as clear-cut as a case gets — even the developers expected to lose, which is why they had been asking the County to change the very code they were up against.
Instead, on July 9 the Hearing Examiner set the rule aside. He ruled that the Public Works Director may override the code’s concurrency requirements — meaning staff can use their own judgment to approve development even where the roads fail the County’s own standard. In one decision, the rule that was supposed to protect these roads stopped meaning much of anything.
So now there’s no brake. What’s already approved is coming — that damage is done. But this ruling is a green light for the next wave, and the wave after that, onto roads that already can’t handle what’s been promised. Every approval is permanent. There is no undo button.
The County’s own 20-year transportation plan shows a funding gap of at least $585 million — and likely more, because the cost estimates aren’t final. Even that number already assumes hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal grants that are far from guaranteed, plus impact fees that only materialize if this kind of development keeps getting approved.
In plain terms: the County is approving the houses now and hoping the road money shows up later. By its own numbers, it won’t.
A judge can enforce the law the Hearing Examiner set aside. That’s what this appeal does. It’s the check that’s left.
We’ll share every bill we pay, post progress updates as the appeal moves through court, and provide a full accounting start to finish. You’ll always know where your money went.
This was never about stopping growth. It’s about making the County keep its promise: build the roads to handle the homes.
Share it with every neighbor who still likes their drive. This one’s for all of us.
Donate on GoFundMe →Money isn’t the only thing that matters here, and a two-minute comment still goes on the permanent record.