Opinion Information Sheet

			

    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

                                        DIVISION II

OLYMPIC STEWARDSHIP FOUNDATION,                                  No.  40272-6-II

                             Appellant,

       v.                                               ORDER GRANTING MOTION
                                                       FOR RECONSIDERATION AND
WESTERN WASHINGTON GROWTH                                 WITHDRAWING OPINION
MANAGEMENT HEARINGS BOARD,

                             Respondent.

       Olympic Stewardship Foundation filed a motion to reconsider our August 5, 2011 

published opinion.  After review of the files and records herein, we grant the motion.

       The August 5, 2011 published opinion is withdrawn.  A new opinion is filed this same 

date.

       Dated this __________________ day of ___________________________, 2012.

       Panel:  Jj. Armstrong, Quinn-Brintnall, Penoyar.

       FOR THE COURT:

                                                           Chief Judge 

40272-6-II

    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

                                        DIVISION II

OLYMPIC STEWARDSHIP FOUNDATION,                                  No.  40272-6-II

                             Appellant,

       v.

WESTERN WASHINGTON GROWTH                                   PUBLISHED OPINION
MANAGEMENT HEARINGS BOARD,

                             Respondent.

       Penoyar, C.J.  --  Rivers alter their course over time, a process known as "channel 

migration."  In 2009, Jefferson County (County)  enacted a critical areas regulation requiring 

property owners to retain all vegetation located in "high-risk" channel migration zones (CMZs)1

for five of the County's rivers.  The regulation defined "high-risk CMZs" as those portions of the 

five rivers' channels that are "likely to migrate" during the next 50 years.  In this appeal, Olympic 

Stewardship Foundation (Foundation)  challenges the vegetation regulation, arguing that it 

violates (1) the Growth Management Act's (GMA) "best available science" requirement, RCW 

36.70A.172(1); and (2) RCW 82.02.020's  "constitutional nexus and rough proportionality"

requirements.  Additionally, the Foundation asserts that (3) the legislature's 2010 amendment to 

RCW 36.70A.480 invalidates the County's nonconforming use regulation for critical areas.  We 

reject the Foundation's arguments and affirm the Western Washington Growth Management 

1 A CMZ is a "corridor of variable width that includes the current river channel plus the adjacent 
area through which the channel has migrated or is likely to migrate within a given timeframe."  1 
Administrative Record (08-2-02852-3) at 208.  
                                               2 

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Hearings Board's (Board) final decision and order and its subsequent compliance order. 

                                               3 

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                                            FACTS

       The GMA, chapter 36.70A RCW,2 requires  participating  counties to designate critical 

areas "where appropriate" and to adopt development regulations to protect these areas.  RCW 

36.70A.170(1)(d); RCW 36.70A.060(2).  "Critical areas" include "geologically hazardous areas,"

which are defined as "areas that because of their susceptibility to erosion, sliding, earthquake, or 

other geological events, are not suited to the siting of commercial, residential, or industrial 

development consistent with public health or safety concerns."     RCW 36.70A.030(5)(e), (9).  

Counties must "include the best available science" when they designate critical areas or develop 

policies and development regulations to protect critical areas.  RCW 36.70A.172(1).  

I.     2008 Ordinance

       On March 17, 2008, the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) 

adopted critical areas ordinance 03-0317-08 (2008 ordinance), which added former chapter 18.22 

(2008) to the Jefferson County Code (JCC).  See Ordinance 03-0317-08, at 1, 16, 18, Ex. C. 1-

42.  Article V of former chapter 18.22 JCC designated "geologically hazardous areas" in the 

County and adopted protection standards for these areas.  Former JCC 18.22.160, .170 (2008).

       Significantly, former JCC 18.22.160(2)(d) designated CMZs as a type of "geologically 

hazardous area" subject to article V's protection standards. The development regulations noted 

that CMZs are "subject to risk due to stream bank destabilization, rapid stream incision, stream 

bank erosion and shifts in the location of stream channels." Former JCC 18.10.030 (2008).

       Besides designating CMZs as "geologically hazardous areas," former chapter 18.22 JCC 

2 For ease of future reference, we cite to current GMA statutes throughout this opinion.  We note 
that although the legislature amended some of these statutes during the 2008-2011 period, none 
of these amendments altered the substance of these statutes in a manner that impacts our analysis.
                                               4 

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defined CMZs to include three distinct components: "the present channel, the severe channel 

migration hazard area and the moderate channel migration hazard area." Former JCC 18.10.030.  

Another subsection defined a "high risk CMZ area" -- a designation that the BOCC may have 

intended as a synonym for "severe channel migration hazard area" -- as an area where "channel 

migration is likely within the next 100 years." Former JCC 18.22.160(2)(d).  Most importantly, 

for purposes of this appeal, article V's protection standards imposed the following "vegetation 

retention" requirements on any future project involving a parcel that contained a CMZ:

       (1)    General.  Application for a project on a parcel of real property containing a 
       designated geologically hazardous area or its buffer shall adhere to the 
       requirements set forth below.

       . . . .

       (4)    Vegetation  Retention.  The following provisions regarding vegetation 
       retention shall apply:
              (a)     During clearing for roadways and utilities, all trees and understory 
                      lying outside of approved construction limits shall be retained; 
                      provided, that understory damaged during approved clearing 
                      operations may be pruned.
              (b)     Damage to vegetation retained during initial clearing activities 
                      shall be minimized by directional felling of trees to avoid critical 
                      areas and vegetation to be retained.
              (c)     Retained trees, understory and stumps may subsequently be 
              cleared only if such clearing is necessary to complete the proposal 
              involved in the triggering application.

Former JCC 18.22.170.

       A.     County's Consideration of "Best Available Science"

       The BOCC included findings in the 2008 ordinance that addressed the GMA's  "best 

available science" requirement:  

       81.    . . . Classification and/or designation of certain regions of the county as a 
       particular type of critical area is, in many cases, based on information disseminated 
       by others. . . . These citations to outside sources used to determine where critical 
                                               5 

40272-6-II

       areas are located within the County are hereby incorporated by reference as Best 
       Available Science.

       82.    As part of the 2004 [comprehensive plan] update process, County staff and 
       consultants reviewed current Best Available Science and received a report entitled: 
       Christensen, D. 2004.[3]      Review of Best Available Science for 2004 
       Comprehensive Plan and Development Regulations Update.  September 22, 2004.

       . . . .

       89.    Jefferson County Natural Resources Division and Jefferson County 
       Department of Community Development receive report Perkins, S.J. 2006.  Final 
       Report.  Channel Migration Hazard Maps for the Dosewallips, Duckabush, Big 
       Quilcene, and Little Quilcene Rivers,  Jefferson County, Washington.  Perkins 
       Geosciences, in February, 2006.  

       90.    USDI Bureau of Reclamation September, 2004 Channel Migration Zone 
       Study Jefferson County, Washington[,] Duckabush, Dosewallips, Big Quilcene 
       and Little Quilcene Rivers.  Technical Service Center Flood Hydrology Group D-
       8530 Denver, Colorado, provides channel migration zone information.

       91.    A Framework for Delineating Channel Migration Zones, Washington 
       State Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Transportation, 
       November, 2003.  Ecology Final Draft Publication #03-06-027, provides channel 
       migration zone information. 

Ordinance 03-0317-08, at 9-10.  The ordinance stated that the Planning Commission, Department 

of Community Development, and the BOCC had considered and evaluated the scientific literature 

that the BOCC included in an attached 24-page bibliography and that the BOCC had developed 

the regulations in former chapter 18.22 JCC by synthesizing this scientific literature.  Ordinance 

03-0317-08, at 17.

3 Dave Christensen is a former manager of the County's Natural Resources Division.
                                               6 

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       B.     The Foundation's Challenge to the 2008 Ordinance

       On May 23, 2008, the Foundation, a nonprofit corporation, and seven of its members,4

challenged the 2008 ordinance by filing a petition for review with the Board.  All seven members 

named in the petition reside in the County, but the administrative record apparently does not 

include any information about whether these members own property that is affected by the 

County's vegetation regulation.  

       The Foundation raised 10 issues in its prehearing brief to the Board, but only 2 are 

relevant in this appeal:

       6.     Did Jefferson County fail to comply with RCW 36.70A.172(1) [the GMA's 
       "best available science" provision] when it adopted JCC 18.22.170(4) by imposing 
       vegetation retention standards on all development in a "channel migration zone?"

        . . . . 

       10.    Did Jefferson County fail to comply with RCW 36.70A.172(1) and RCW 
       36.70A.370,[5]  and fail to consider and balance planning goal 6 (RCW 
       36.70A.020(6) (property rights)) in adopting JCC 18.22.160-.180, which changes 
       existing development and uses into nonconforming uses?

1 Administrative Record (AR) at 158.6 The Foundation also suggested in its prehearing brief that 

because the "best available science" did not support the vegetation regulations, these regulations 

did not comply with "constitutional nexus and rough proportionality requirements."  1 AR at 169.     

4 For ease of reference, we refer to the Foundation and the seven members as "the Foundation."  

5 RCW 36.70A.370(1) orders the state attorney general to establish an "orderly, consistent 
process" to evaluate proposed regulatory or administrative actions to assure that such actions do 
not result in an unconstitutional taking of private property.  Local governments must abide by this 
process.  RCW 36.70A.370(2).

6 1 AR is the administrative record pertaining to superior court cause number 08-2-02852-3 and 2 
AR is the administrative record pertaining to superior court cause number 09-2-01897-6.
                                               7 

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       Both parties attached numerous exhibits to their prehearing briefs, including the scientific 

studies that the BOCC cited in findings 82, 89, 90, and 91 of the ordinance.  The parties also 

attached the following scientific information:  

   ?   1  AR at 206-18 ("Channel Migration Zones," a chapter from King County's  Best 
       Available Science, Volume 1 (Feb. 2004));

   ?   1 AR at 365-458 ("Lower Hoh River Channel Migration Study," by Perkins Geosciences 
       (June 2004));

   ?   1 AR at 627-635 ("Geology, geomorphology, and the restoration ecology of salmon," by 
       David R. Montgomery, University of Washington (Nov. 2004));

   ?   1 AR at 637-71 ("Channel Migration Hazard Maps for Eastern Jefferson County Rivers"
       by Susan Perkins, Perkins Geosciences (2004)); and

   ?   1 AR at 705-708 ("Management Recommendations for Washington's Priority Habitats: 
       Riparian," Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW web page)).

       C.     Board's Final Decision and Order

       On November 19, 2008, the Board issued a final decision and order rejecting the majority 

of the Foundation's claims.  With regard to issue six, the Foundation's "best available science"

challenge, the Board noted that the County had relied on the studies listed in the 24-page 

bibliography attached to the ordinance -- including the Bureau of Reclamation's CMZ study, the 

Department of Ecology's CMZ delineation study, and Perkins Geosciences's 2006 CMZ hazard 

maps -- as the "best available science" to develop the critical areas regulations.  The Board noted 

that in its interpretation, the Foundation was not arguing that these scientific studies did not 

constitute the "best available science" but, rather, that these studies did not support the adopted 

vegetation regulation.  

                                               8 

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       The Board partly agreed with the Foundation on issue six, noting that although the 

Department of Ecology's study (publication 03-06-027) and Perkins Geosciences's "Lower Hoh 

River Channel Migration Study" addressed the importance of vegetation in the river environment, 

the "best available science" did not support former JCC 18.22.170(4)'s blanket restriction on 

vegetation removal throughout the entirety of the designated CMZs.    The Board also expressed 

concern that the regulation could be interpreted to prohibit vegetation removal on an entire parcel 

of property even if only a portion of that parcel fell within a CMZ.  In the Board's view, the 

County should have limited vegetation removal only to the high-risk portions of CMZs: 

              The importance of vegetation in the fluvial environment has been well 
       documented, especially in regards to its significant role in erosion control, bank 
       stabilization, bank protection, and bank accretion.[7] Vegetation is also important 
       as it serves to provide the recruitment of large woody debris (LWD) which can 
       prevent bank erosion and serves to direct how and where a channel may migrate.[8]  
       However, [former JCC 18.22.170(4)] appears to limit the removal of vegetation 
       on the entirety of property containing a designated [geologically hazardous area] 
       or its buffer.  For a CMZ this would be an area of varying width and risk 
       assessment.  Although it is hard to ascertain from the Record presented to the 
       Board, this area may range in size from a hundred feet to thousands of feet.
              Of concern to the Board is Jefferson County's apparent requirement to 
       retain vegetation regardless of the associated probability of risk which is not equal 
       within the entire mapped CMZ, let alone on the entirety of properties only a 
       portion of which are within a CMZ.  That is, vegetation removal is not precluded 
       only within the high risk area.  Thus, should a property owner be prohibited from 
       removing vegetation within a low risk area, or that portion of a property outside a 
       CMZ where the probability of channel occupation is slight or nonexistent?  The 
       Board recognizes that as a river migrates it will naturally encompass areas which 
       may currently be classified as low risk; however, this alone does not warrant a 
       blanket restriction.  Based on the scientific documentation's finding that vegetation 
       serves an important role within what would be deemed the highest risk area of a 

7 Citing Ecology's publication 03-06-027, which discusses the importance of riparian vegetation 
in providing habitat and limiting erosion.  

8 Citing chapters 4 and 5 of the Perkins Geosciences's "Lower Hoh River Channel Migration 
Study," which address, respectively, "Channel Migration" and  "Forest Cover, Large Woody 
Debris, and Channel Morphology."
                                               9 

40272-6-II

       CMZ -- the area within which a river may move within the 50 year period -- the 
       County's limitation on vegetation removal as drafted is not supported by [the "best 
       available science"].

1 AR at 825.  Accordingly, the Board ordered the County to take legislative action to bring itself 

into compliance with the GMA.  

       The Board also rejected the Foundation's challenge with regard to issue 10, which

addressed the County's nonconforming use regulation, JCC 18.22.080.9       The Foundation had 

challenged the scientific basis of the nonconforming use regulation under RCW 36.70A.172(1) 

and had asserted that the regulation failed to comply with the planning goal of RCW 

36.70A.020(6), which states, "The property rights of landowners shall be protected from arbitrary 

and discriminatory actions."   The Board concluded that "the same scientific evidence which 

expounds the need to restrict development within CMZs applies to existing structures."  1 AR at 

828.  The Board also concluded that the County had considered private property rights during its 

9 The nonconforming use regulation reads in its entirety:

       (1)  Any legal use or legal structure in existence on the effective date of [this 
       Chapter 18.22] that does not meet the buffer requirements of this chapter for any 
       designated critical area shall be considered a legal nonconforming use.

       (2)  Any use or structure for which an application has vested or for which a permit 
       has been obtained prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this 
       chapter, that does not meet the buffer requirements of this chapter for any 
       designated critical area, shall be considered a legal nonconforming use.

       (3)  A legal nonconforming use or structure may be maintained or repaired without 
       limitation by this chapter.

       (4)  A legal nonconforming use or structure that has been damaged or destroyed 
       by fire or other calamity may be restored and its immediately previous use may be 
       resumed.

JCC 18.22.080.
                                               10 

40272-6-II

enactment of the 2008 ordinance and that its action was not arbitrary or discriminatory.  

II.    2009 Ordinance

       On May 11, 2009, the BOCC adopted Ordinance 06-0511-09 (2009 ordinance) in 

response to the Board's order.  The 2009 ordinance amended the regulations in article V of 

chapter 18.22 JCC in two significant ways.  First, the ordinance amended the definition of "high 

risk CMZs" to include "those nondisconnected portions" of five Jefferson County rivers (the Big 

Quilcene, Little Quilcene, Dosewallips, Duckabush, and Lower Hoh) "that are likely to migrate 

within a 50-year time frame."10  JCC 18.10.030.  Second, the ordinance made all of article V's 

protection standards applicable only to "[t]hose areas within the delineated high risk CMZ area"

and explicitly exempted moderately high, moderate, and low risk CMZs from the protection 

standards.  JCC 18.22.160(2)(d).  The relevant protection standard now reads:

       Within a high risk CMZ, vegetation removal shall not be allowed.  Vegetation 
       removal outside of  a high risk CMZ shall not be reviewed under this article.  
       Should this provision conflict with other vegetation retention requirements 
       specified within the JCC, the more restrictive protection requirement applies.

JCC 18.22.170(4)(d).  

10 JCC 18.10.030's current classification scheme is as follows:

 Type of CMZ                  Timeframe of Likely Rivers Affected
                              Channel Migration
 High risk                    Within 50 years            Big Quilcene, Little Quilcene, 
                                                         Dosewallips, Duckabush, Lower Hoh
 Moderately high risk         Within 50 to 100 years     Lower Hoh
 Moderate risk                Within 50 to 100 years     Big Quilcene, Little Quilcene, 
                                                         Dosewallips, Duckabush
 Moderate hazard              Beyond 100 yards           Lower Hoh
 Low risk                     Beyond 100 years           Big Quilcene, Little Quilcene, 
                                                         Dosewallips, Duckabush
 Low hazard                   Not Defined                Lower Hoh

                                               11 

40272-6-II

       Additionally, section two of the 2009 ordinance stated that the BOCC incorporated all of 

the 2008 ordinance's findings of fact.  Therefore, according to the BOCC, the 2009 ordinance 

"includes all best available Sciences literature that was submitted, considered, and evaluated by 

citizens, agencies, tribes, the Planning Commissioners, Department of Community Development, 

and the Board of County Commissioners."  Ordinance 06-0511-09, at 6.  The 2009 ordinance 

stated, "The references listed in EXHIBIT A are considered the applicable literature to address 

the November 19, 2008 Final Decision and Order issued by the [Board]."  Ordinance 06-0511-09,

at 6.  Exhibit A to the 2009 ordinance included the Bureau of Reclamation study referenced in 

finding 90 of the 2008 ordinance, Perkins Geosciences's June 2004 "Lower Hoh River Channel 

Migration Study," Perkins Geosciences's  February 2006 CMZ Hazard Maps, and two other 

studies by Perkins Geosciences that do not appear to be in the record.  

       On June 1, 2009, the County filed a statement of actions taken, which explained the above 

amendments to article V of chapter 18.22 JCC.  The Board concluded that the County had 

achieved GMA compliance, stating:

              [The Foundation] raises numerous objections which are beyond the scope 
       of the County's compliance requirements.  Those requirements were relatively 
       simple: (1) address the discrepancy between the 100 year delineation of high-risk 
       CMZs in [former] JCC 18.22.160(2)(d) and the 50-year high-risk definition in the 
       ["best available science"], and (2) address the vegetation removal preclusion 
       applicable to entire parcels when such a parcel includes a designated geologically 
       hazardous area or its buffer.
              The County has accomplished compliance.  By adopting the Ordinance, the 
       County . . . redefined channel migration zones and the levels of hazard risk were 
       clarified.  JCC 18.10.030 provides the needed clarity to the definition of channel 
       migration zones or hazards.  High Risk CMZs are now defined to be those areas 
       along the described rivers, together with those non-disconnected portions of the 
       channel, which are likely to migrate within a 50 year time frame.
              The County also amended JCC 18.22.170(4)(d) so that vegetation removal 
       is only disallowed within high risk CMZs; not on entire parcels affected by high-
       risk CMZs.
                                               12 

40272-6-II

              The Board did not, as asserted by [the Foundation], question the ["best 
       available science"] supporting the definition of high-risk CMZs.  Thus, there is no 
       basis for [the Foundation's] assertion that the County was required to demonstrate 
       that it analyzed the differences in the CMZ studies in regards [to] CMZ 
       delineation.  Furthermore, the lack of ["best available science"] supporting the 
       County's "adoption of a uniform standard for delineating high risk CMZs" was not 
       an issue on compliance.
              [The Foundation's] assertion that the County's 100% vegetation 
       requirement is not supported by ["best available science"] was raised by [the 
       Foundation] in its Petition for Review (Issue 6).  The Board addressed this issue in 
       the [final decision and order] and concluded only that a blanket restriction on 
       removal of vegetation that was not linked to the functions and values it was 
       intended to protect was not supported by ["best available science"].  That blanket 
       restriction applied to the entirety of a property containing a designated CMZ or its 
       buffer.  The Board's concern was the retention requirement's applicability 
       regardless of the associated probability of risk, which would not be equal within 
       the entire CMZ, let alone on the entirety of a property only a portion of which was 
       within the CMZ.  There was no question that the ["best available science"] in the 
       record supported a vegetation removal limitation so long as it was related to the 
       probability of risk.  The County has addressed the Board's concern by limiting the 
       requirement to high risk CMZs alone.

2 AR at 180-81 (footnotes omitted).  

III.   Superior Court Review

        The Foundation sought review of both the Board's final decision and order and the 

Board's compliance order in Thurston County Superior Court.  The superior court consolidated 

review and denied the Foundation's petition, concluding in relevant part that the Foundation had 

failed to prove that the vegetation regulation was not supported by the "best available science" or 

that the vegetation regulation violated RCW 82.02.020.   The Foundation appealed.11  We issued 

an opinion.  The Foundation moved to reconsider and we withdrew our prior opinion.

11 The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe, and Futurewise participated 
below as amici curiae in support of the County.  We denied a motion by the tribes and Futurewise 
to intervene and file an amicus brief in this appeal.  
                                               13 

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                                          ANALYSIS

I.     Judicial Review, Deference, and Burden of Proof in GMA Cases

       The Board adjudicates compliance with the GMA and must find compliance unless a 

county's action is clearly erroneous.  See RCW 36.70A.280(1)(a), .320(3).  The Board presumes 

the validity of development regulations and related amendments that a county adopts under the 

GMA.  See RCW 36.70A.320(1).  A county's action is clearly erroneous if the Board has a firm 

and definite conviction that the county made a mistake.  Thurston County v. W. Wash. Growth 

Mgmt. Hearings Bd., 164 Wn.2d 329, 340-41, 190 P.3d 38 (2008).

       The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), chapter 34.05 RCW, governs our review of the 

Board's actions.  Thurston County, 164 Wn.2d at 341; see also RCW 36.70A.300(5).  Under the 

APA, the party asserting the invalidity of agency action has the burden of demonstrating the 

invalidity. RCW 34.05.570(1)(a).  The Foundation asserts that two of the APA's nine possible 

grounds for relief from an agency order apply here:

              "(a)  The order, or the statute or rule on which the order is based, is in 
       violation of constitutional provisions on its face or as applied; [and]
              . . . .
              (d) The agency has erroneously interpreted or applied the law."

See Petitioner's Br. at 8 (alterations in original) (quoting RCW 34.05.570(3)).  

       We sit in the same position as the trial court and apply the APA standards directly to the 

administrative record before the Board.  Lewis County v. W. Wash. Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd., 

157 Wn.2d 488, 497, 139 P.3d 1096 (2006).  Thus, like the Board, we defer to the county's 

planning action unless the action is clearly erroneous. See Quadrant Corp. v. Cent. Puget Sound 

Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd., 154 Wn.2d 224, 238, 110 P.3d 1132 (2005); RCW 36.70A.320(3); 

                                               14 

40272-6-II

see also RCW 36.70A.3201.

II.    "Include the Best Available Science"

       In 1995, the legislature added the following provision to the GMA:

       In designating and protecting critical areas under this chapter, counties and cities 
       shall include the best available science in developing policies and development 
       regulations to protect the functions and values of critical areas. In addition, 
       counties and cities shall give special consideration to conservation or protection 
       measures necessary to preserve or enhance anadromous fisheries.  

RCW 36.70A.172(1) (emphasis added); Laws of 1995, ch. 347, § 105.  As our Supreme Court 

has observed, the legislature did not define "best available science."  Ferry County v. Concerned 

Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d 824, 834, 123 P.3d 102 (2005) (citing RCW 36.70A.030, 

.172(1)).  Nor did the legislature explain what it means for a local government to "include" the 

"best available science."

       In the Foundation's view, RCW 36.70A.172(1) requires  a county to "create a record 

demonstrating that it engaged in a reasoned process of evaluating the 'best available science'

when it develops critical area regulations." Petitioner's Br. at 1-2.  Significantly, the Foundation 

does not appear to argue that the scientific studies in the administrative record should not be 

considered the "best available science."12   Instead, the Foundation's argument turns on the 

meaning of the word "include."      The Foundation contends that it is not enough for local 

governments to merely reference relevant scientific studies during the critical areas regulatory 

process; rather, local governments must explain how these studies support the adopted critical 

12 The Foundation does not, for example, assert that the scientific studies in the record suffer from 
faulty methodologies, insufficient peer review, illogical conclusions, poor quantitative analysis, or 
other defects that taint the scientific process.  See WAC 365-195-905(5)(a) (establishing criteria 
for determining whether information displays the characteristics of a valid scientific process).
                                               15 

40272-6-II

areas policy or regulation.  Accordingly, in this case, the Foundation argues that the Board 

committed an error of law under RCW 34.05.570(3)(d) by concluding that the County had 

complied with RCW 36.70A.172(1) without requiring the County to explain how the studies in 

the administrative record supported the vegetation regulation.13  

       The County responds that "where a GMA enactment reflects scientifically respectable 

conclusions, mere disagreement by a petitioner as to which studies and opinions should be relied 

upon is not a basis to set aside the County's judgment."  Resp't's Br. at 13.  The County also 

points to specific information in the administrative record which, the County argues, provides 

scientific support for the vegetation regulation.  We agree with the Board's conclusion that the 

County complied with RCW 36.70A.172(1).  

       A.     Standard of Review

       The resolution of this dispute involves a question of statutory interpretation, which we 

review under the APA's error of law standard.  RCW 34.05.570(3)(d); Postema v. Pollution 

Control Hearings Bd., 142 Wn.2d 68, 77, 11 P.3d 726 (2000).  We accord substantial weight to 

the Board's interpretation of a statute that it administers.  Swinomish Indian Tribal Cmty. v. W. 

Wash. Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd., 161 Wn.2d 415, 424, 166 P.3d 1198 (2007).  We do not, 

however, defer to an agency's interpretation of a statute if that interpretation conflicts with the 

statute.14  Postema, 142 Wn.2d at 77.  

13 As part of its challenge, the Foundation assigns error to conclusions of law K and M.  However, 
because the Foundation does not argue in its briefing before us, as it did below, that the County 
cannot designate CMZs as a type of critical area under the GMA, we do not address those 
portions of conclusions of law K and M related to the designation issue.  
14 The Foundation argues that a de novo standard of review applies to APA challenges under 
RCW 34.05.570(3)(d).  See Petitioner's Br. at 8 (citing City of Redmond v. Cent. Puget Sound 
Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd., 136 Wn.2d 38, 45, 959 P.2d 1091 (1998)).  But even the case that 
                                               16 

40272-6-II

       B.     Concerned Friends of Ferry County v. Ferry County

       Our Supreme Court's most extensive discussion of what it means to "include the best 

available science" occurred in Concerned Friends of Ferry County.  See 155 Wn.2d at 834-38.  In 

that case, Ferry County listed only two species of fauna as endangered, threatened, or sensitive.  

Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 829.  To support its action, the county relied 

only on the listing recommendation of a retired Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife 

planner. Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 829, 836-37.  That planner, in turn, 

had based his listing recommendation on only a few sources: a book about bird breeding 

locations, "various other field guides and wildlife texts," and a conversation with a Washington 

Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist for Ferry County about the distribution of a single 

rabbit species.  Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 829.  By choosing to list only 

two species, Ferry County rejected the Department of Fish and Wildlife's suggested listing of 12 

endangered, threatened, or sensitive species present in the county.  Concerned Friends of Ferry 

County, 155 Wn.2d at 828.  In a compliance order, the Board stated that the County had not 

complied with RCW 36.70A.172 by listing only two species because it did not provide "'a 

scientific foundation, evidence of analysis, or a reasoned process to justify their listing, while 

rejecting the recommendations  of endangered, threatened and sensitive species and wildlife 

conservation areas provided by DFW.'"  Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 830.

       Our Supreme Court agreed with the Board, holding that substantial evidence15 supported 

the Foundation cites to support the de novo standard of review supports deference here.  See City 
of Redmond, 136 Wn.2d at 46 ("We accord deference to an agency interpretation of the law 
where the agency has specialized expertise in dealing with such issues, but we are not bound by an 
agency's interpretation of a statute.").
15 The APA directs courts to grant relief from an administrative order when substantial evidence 
                                               17 

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the Board's order.  Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 826, 838-39.  The court 

noted that although the legislature had not defined what it meant to "include the best available 

science," the growth management hearings boards had, by the time of the Board's compliance 

order, "formulated considerations for determining whether [best available science] was included."  

Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 834.  Specifically, the boards "at least

required local governments to produce valid scientific information and consider competing 

scientific information and other factors through analysis constituting a reasoned process."  

Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 835.      

       Notably, our Supreme Court declined to adopt a precise definition for "best available 

science," concluding that Ferry County's ordinance failed to comply with this GMA requirement 

"[r]egardless of the precise definition of [best available science] applied."  Concerned Friends of 

Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 836; see also 155 Wn.2d at 837 ("the county's listing does not pass 

the smell test for [best available science] regardless of how it is defined").  Apart from concluding 

that the wildlife planner's information did not "rise to the level of scientific information,"16 our 

Supreme Court observed that the county's analysis of the wildlife planner's information did not 

constitute a "reasoned process":

       The county directs us to no evidence of it evaluating the science produced by [the 
       wildlife planner].  Nor is there sufficient evidence of the county's comparing 

does not support the order.  RCW 34.05.570(3)(e).
16 The court concluded that the information was not "scientific" because (1) nothing in the 
planner's background suggested that he was familiar with Ferry County wildlife, (2) he cited only 
two reference sources -- a birding manual and his discussion with the DFW biologist about a single 
species -- to support his listing recommendation, and (3) he did not employ any other scientific 
methods, like on-site observations or conferring with local experts.  Concerned Friends of Ferry 
County, 155 Wn.2d at 836-37.  Instead, the information provided by the wildlife planner 
"resemble[d] nonscientific information . . . more similar to speculation or surmise."  Concerned 
Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 837.  
                                               18 

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       science provided by [the wildlife planner] to any other resources, such as science 
       available from state or federal agencies or the Colville Tribe.

Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 836, 837; see also Honesty in Envtl. Analysis 

&  Legislation (HEAL) v. Cent. Puget Sound Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd., 96 Wn. App. 522, 

532, 979 P.2d 864 (1999) ("[E]vidence of the best available science must be included in the 

record and must be considered substantively in the development of critical areas policies and 

regulations." (Emphasis added).).  

       Finally, our Supreme Court also observed that the Department of Commerce17 had 

adopted regulations to help local governments comply with the GMA's "best available science"

requirement.  Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 835 n.9 (citing WAC 365-195-

900 through -925).  Although the court did not apply those regulations to Ferry County's actions 

because the Department of Commerce had issued the regulations after the Board's compliance 

order in that case, the court observed that "the Board made inquiries similar to the considerations 

now recommended by WAC 365-195-900 through -925, requiring valid scientific information to 

be analyzed in a reasoned process."  Concerned Friends of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 835 n.9.  

The court noted, "Fortunately, hearings boards making similar determinations will have greater 

guidance in the future with the benefit of WAC 365-195-900 through -925."  Concerned Friends 

of Ferry County, 155 Wn.2d at 838-39.    

       C.     The County Complied with the GMA's "Best Available Science" Requirement

       As in Concerned Friends of Ferry County, the question here is whether the County 

17 Until 2009, the Department of Commerce was called the Department of Community, Trade, 
and Economic Development.  See Laws of 2009, ch. 565.  We use the agency's current name for 
ease of future reference.  
                                               19 

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"include[d] the best available science" under RCW 36.70A.172(1) when it enacted the challenged 

regulation.  This case presents us with a situation in which the County identified numerous 

scientific studies that it relied on in adopting the vegetation regulation but did not explicitly 

analyze on the record how these studies supported its decision to prohibit vegetation removal in 

high-risk CMZs adjacent to five county rivers.  We agree with the Board that the County 

complied with RCW 36.70A.172(1)'s "best available science" requirement.

       We must first determine what it means to "include the best available science." Because we 

defer to an agency's interpretation of a statute that it administers, we turn to the relevant 

Department of Commerce18 regulations, which our Supreme Court identified in Concerned 

Friends of Ferry County.  See 155 Wn.2d at 835 n.9, 838-39; WAC 365-195-900 through -925.  

The Foundation does not cite or discuss these regulations, and the County mentions them only in 

passing.  Nevertheless, as the Concerned Friends of Ferry County court recognized, these 

regulations are the proper starting point for determining whether a county has complied with 

RCW 36.70A.172(1)'s "best available science" requirement.  See 155 Wn.2d at 835 n.9, 838-39.

       The Department of Commerce promulgated these regulations in 2000 to "assist counties 

and cities in identifying and including the best available science in newly adopted policies and 

regulations . . . and  in demonstrating they have met their statutory obligations under RCW 

36.70A.172(1)."    WAC 365-195-900(2).  Most relevant here, WAC 365-195-915 includes 

18 The legislature has provided rulemaking authority to the Department of Commerce to "[a]dopt[ 
] by rule procedural criteria to assist counties and cities in adopting comprehensive plans and 
development regulations that meet the goals and requirements of [the GMA]."                RCW 
36.70A.190(4)(b).  The legislature directed the growth management hearings boards to consider 
these criteria when determining whether a county has complied with the GMA.  RCW 
36.70A.320(3).  
                                               20 

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criteria to assist counties in demonstrating that they have "included the best available science" in 

developing critical areas policies and regulations.  Counties "should address each of the following 

on the record":

                                               21 

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              (a) The specific policies and development regulations adopted to protect the 
       functions and values of the critical areas at issue.

              (b) The relevant sources of best available scientific information included in the 
       decision-making.

              (c) Any nonscientific information -- including legal, social, cultural, economic, and 
       political information -- used as a basis for critical area policies and regulations that depart 
       from recommendations derived from the best available science.

WAC 365-195-915(1).  

       We agree with the Board that the County addressed "[t]he relevant sources of best 

available scientific information included in the decision-making" on the record, as WAC 365-195-

915(1)(b) requires.  As the Board observed, the BOCC's 2008 ordinance specifically identified a 

24-page bibliography of scientific literature that the BOCC evaluated in order to develop the 

critical areas regulations.  See Ordinance 03-0317-08, at 17, Ex. A.  Additionally, the findings in 

the 2008 ordinance singled out detailed studies and reports by the Department of Ecology, the 

Bureau of Reclamation, Perkins Geosciences, and a former manager of the County's natural 

resources division.  Ordinance 03-0317-08, at 9-10.  The 2009 ordinance incorporated these 

findings and cited additional studies and maps by Perkins Geosciences as the scientific basis for 

addressing the Board's final decision and order.  Finally, as the Board recognized, these studies 

and reports discuss, in part, the specific value at issue here: the importance of vegetation in the 

river environment "especially in regards to its significant role  in erosion control, bank 

stabilization, bank protection, and bank accretion."  1 AR at 825.  

       We do not read Concerned Friends of Ferry County as imposing a duty on a county to 

describe each step of the deliberative process that links the science that it considers to the adopted 

policy or regulation.  Nor does the relevant Department of Commerce regulation impose such a 

                                               22 

40272-6-II

duty -- rather, it requires that counties "address . . . on the record . . . [t]he relevant sources of 

best available scientific information included in the decision-making." WAC 365-195-915(1)(b).  

Here, because the County complied with this requirement, we conclude that the Board correctly 

applied RCW 36.70A.172(1).

III.   RCW 82.02.020

       The Foundation next appears to argue that the County's vegetation regulation is "invalid 

on its face" because it violates the "constitutional nexus and rough proportionality test" embodied 

in RCW 82.02.020.19 Petitioner's Br. at 28-29.  We hold that the County has demonstrated that 

the land dedication requirement of the CMZ regulation is "reasonable necessary" as a direct result 

of any development within any high-risk CMZ.

       A.     Standard of Review 

       The APA standards apply.  Thus, we review the Board's order as it applies to the 

Foundation's argument to determine whether "[t]he order, or the statute or rule on which the 

19 RCW 82.02.020 generally provides, with some exceptions, that the state preempts the field of 
imposing certain taxes:

       [N]o county . . . shall impose any tax, fee, or charge, either direct or indirect, on the 
       construction or reconstruction of residential buildings, commercial buildings, industrial 
       buildings, or on any other building or building space or appurtenance thereto, or on the 
       development, subdivision, classification, or reclassification of land.  However, this section 
       does not preclude dedications of land or easements within the proposed development or 
       plat which the county . . . can demonstrate are reasonably necessary as a direct result of 
       the proposed development or plat to which the dedication of land or easement is to apply.

See also Isla Verde Int'l Holdings, Inc. v. City of Camas, 146 Wn.2d 740, 753, 49 P.3d 867 
(2002).  We note that the legislature has twice amended the language in the introductory 
paragraph of RCW 82.02.020 since the BOCC enacted the 2008 ordinance.  Laws of 2009, ch. 
535, § 1103; Laws of 2008, ch. 113, § 2.  Because these amendments do not affect our analysis, 
we cite to the current version of the statute for ease of future reference.
                                               23 

40272-6-II

order is based, is in violation of constitutional provisions on its face or as applied" and whether 

the Board "has erroneously interpreted or applied the law."    RCW 34.05.570(3)(a), (d).  We 

review questions of statutory construction under the APA's error of law standard.  RCW 

34.05.570(3)(d); Postema, 142 Wn.2d at 77.

       B.     Board's Treatment of Issue

       In its briefs before the Board, the Foundation did not cite RCW 82.02.020, but did briefly 

discuss the "constitutional nexus and rough proportionality requirements" in its prehearing brief in 

the context of another argument not raised on appeal.  Additionally, in its prehearing brief, the 

Foundation specifically tied its "constitutional nexus and rough proportionality" argument to the 

GMA's "best available science" provision. Because the Board interpreted the Foundation's nexus 

and rough proportionality arguments as constitutional claims, it declined to address them.  See 

RCW 36.70A.280(1) (limiting the Board's jurisdiction to specific matters).  The Board did not 

address RCW 82.02.020 because the Foundation did not cite or discuss it. 

       C.     Failure to Show a Violation of RCW 82.02.02020

       The Foundation argues that the vegetation regulation violates RCW 82.02.020.  We

assume without deciding that the issues are properly before us21 and hold that the CMZ regulation

20 In our withdrawn opinion, we held that any challenge raised by the Foundation based on a 
takings argument under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Construction was not ripe.  
U.S. Const. amend. V; see also Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R.R. v. City of Chicago, 166 U.S. 
226, 239, 17 S. Ct. 581, 41 L. Ed. 979 (1897) (Fifth Amendment's takings clause applies to the 
states through the Fourteenth Amendment).   Upon reconsideration, we note that no Fifth 
Amendment takings claim was brought by the Foundation, either at the Board level or here on 
appeal. It is clear from the briefing on appeal that the Foundation brought only a statutory claim 
under RCW 82.02.020, similar arguments raised in Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights v. Sims, 
145 Wn. App. 649, 187 P.3d 786 (2008), review denied, 165 Wn.2d 1030 (2009).  While that 
statute incorporates the standard for a Fifth Amendment takings challenge, we decline to address 
a takings challenge where none was raised by the Foundation.
                                               24 

40272-6-II

does not violate RCW 82.02.020.  

       RCW 82.02.020 directs that generally, "no county, city, town, or other municipal 

corporation shall impose any tax, fee, or charge, either direct or indirect, on the . . .  development 

. . . of land." See also Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights v. Sims, 145 Wn. App. 649, 656, 

187 P.3d 786 (2008), review denied, 165 Wn.2d 1030 (2009).  RCW 82.02.020 applies to 

development conditions adopted pursuant to the GMA.  Citizens' Alliance, 145 Wn. App. at 663. 

It does not, however, preclude dedications of land or easements within the proposed development 

or plat which the county, city, town, or other municipal corporation can demonstrate are 

reasonably necessary as a direct result of the proposed development or plat to which the 

dedication of land or easement is to apply.  RCW 82.02.020.     In other words, it requires that 

development conditions be tied to a specific, identified impact of a development on a community. 

Citizens' Alliance, 145 Wn. App. at 665.  RCW 82.02.020 requires both a nexus 

21 In our withdrawn opinion, we held that the Foundation had failed to preserve this issue by not 
raising it at the hearing before the Board. Slip op. at 25. Upon reconsideration, we note that the 
Board lacks the jurisdictional authority to decide claims alleging a violation of property rights, 
including a violation of RCW 82.02.020.  See, e.g., Citizens for Rational Shoreline Planning v. 
Whatcom County, No. 08-2-0031, at 8-9 (W. Wash. Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd. Decision and 
Order Jan. 16, 2009) (finding Growth Management Hearings Boards do not have jurisdiction to 
address issues related to chapter 82.02 RCW); Whidbey Envt'l. Action Network v. Island County, 
No. 06-2-0023, at 8 (W. Wash Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd. Decision and Order Jan. 24, 2007).  
We also note, however, that no party raised the issue of whether the Foundation's claim regarding 
RCW 82.02.020 was properly brought in this forum.  We question whether the claim is properly 
raised here. Specifically, we question whether the claim could only be brought as a separate 
superior court action, whether the claim is ripe where the Foundation has not proposed a specific 
development, whether the Foundation has standing to assert the claim, and whether a hearing 
before the Board pursuant to the GMA is the proper forum to raise a challenge under the statute.  
Because neither party raised these issues, we will resolve this question on the merits.  RAP 
12.1(a).
                                               25 

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and rough proportionality22 for a dedication of land to meet the requirements of RCW 82.02.020.  

Citizens' Alliance, 145 Wn. App. at 669-70; see also City of Federal Way v. Town & Country 

Real Estate, LLC, 161 Wn. App. 17, 45, 252 P.3d 382 (2011) ("RCW 82.02.020 contains the 

same kind of 'rough proportionality' analysis embodied in the Nollan/Dolan standard.").  

       The Foundation contends that the CMZ regulation is invalid on its face because the 

County cannot meet the nexus and proportionality test.  Petitioner Br. at 29.  The Foundation 

relies on Isla Verde International Holdings, Inc. v. City of Camas, 146 Wn.2d 740, 49 P.3d 867 

(2002) and Citizens Alliance,  165 Wn.2d 649,  for  this contention.  Those cases are 

distinguishable.

       In Isla Verde, a developer sought review under the Land Use Petition Act (LUPA) of 

certain conditions placed on the approval of a preliminary plat for a proposed subdivision in the 

City of Camas.  146 Wn.2d at 745-46.  The challenged conditions included a 30 percent "open 

space" set aside.  Isla Verde, 140 Wn.2d at 745.  The trial court held that the open space set aside 

violated RCW 82.02.020 because the City made no individualized determination that the 30 

percent set aside requirement was necessary to mitigate an impact of the development, the 

22 The "nexus" and "rough proportionality" tests are also called the "Nollan/Dolan" tests, after 
the United States Supreme Court's decisions in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission, 483 
U.S. 825, 107 S. Ct. 3141, 97 L. Ed. 2d 677 (1987), and Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512 U.S. 374, 
114 S. Ct. 2309, 129 L. Ed. 2d 304 (1994). The Nollan majority held that the United States 
Constitution's Fifth Amendment  "takings clause" requires an "essential nexus" between the 
negative impacts that a private property use generates and the conditions or prohibitions imposed 
to restrict that use of private property.  483 U.S. at 827, 837.  Seven years later, the United States 
Supreme Court announced in Dolan that the "takings clause" contains a "rough proportionality"
test requiring the government to "make some sort of individualized determination that the 
required dedication [of private land] is related both in nature and extent to the impact of the 
proposed development." 512 U.S. at 391.
                                               26 

40272-6-II

condition was disproportionate to the impact caused by the subdivision, and the City had not 

established a need for additional open space within the city limits as a result of the proposed 

development. Isla Verde, 146 Wn.2d at 755.  The Supreme Court affirmed.         Isla Verde, 146 

Wn.2d at 765.

       In Citizens' Alliance, the King County ordinance at issue limited the amount of space to 

be cleared on each lot according to the size of the lot.  145 Wn. App. at 654.  The amount of land 

to be reserved had no relation to the impacts of the proposed development.  Citizens' Alliance, 

145 Wn. App. at  668.     For that reason, the ordinance constituted an unlawful in-kind tax. 

Citizens' Alliance, 145 Wn. App. at 672.

       In contrast, in Trimen Development Co. v. King County, 124 Wn.2d 261, 275, 877 P.2d 

187 (1994), our supreme court held that a King County ordinance requiring dedication of open 

recreational space, or payment of a fee in lieu thereof, for final approval of proposed subdivisions 

was lawful under RCW 82.02.020 because it determined the amount of land to be dedicated (or 

fee) based on King County's comprehensive assessment of its park needs and on its annual growth 

report. 

       This case is distinguishable from Isla Verde and Citizens' Alliance.  In those cases, the 

ordinances required all property owners to set aside a portion of their land as open space, whether 

or not the land in question contained critical areas.  See  Isla Verde, 146 Wn.2d at  746-47;

Citizens' Alliance, 165 Wn.2d at 668.  Here, the County has only prohibited vegetation removal 

and development within those areas that have determined to be "high risk" critical areas.  

                                               27 

40272-6-II

As a result, any dedications of land within the critical areas are de facto "reasonably necessary as a

direct result of the proposed development or plat." RCW 82.02.020.  In fact, as discussed 

above, the County put forth the "best available science" as required by RCW 36.70A.172(1) to 

show that the CMZ regulation is necessary where applied.        Where  "best available science"

provides a scientific basis for restricting development and disturbance within a critical area, the 

science ensures that the nexus and proportionality tests are met.  See, e.g., HEAL, 96. Wn. App. 

533 ("[T]he policies and regulations adopted under GMA must comply with the nexus and rough 

proportionality limits the United States Supreme Court has placed on governmental authority to 

impose conditions on development applications." (Footnotes omitted.)).  As the Board stated, the 

vegetation at issue has a "significant role in erosion control, bank stabilization, bank protection, 

and bank accretion."  1 AR at 825.  No property owner is required to provide the public with a 

benefit not immediately related to  ensuring the continued function of that vegetation.     The 

Foundation's challenge to the CMZ regulation based on RCW 82.02.020 fails.

IV.    Nonconforming Use Regulation

       Finally, the Foundation   challenges the legality of the County's nonconforming use 

regulation, JCC 18.22.080, which the County adopted as part of the 2008 critical areas ordinance.  

The Foundation asserts that JCC 18.22.080 fails to comply with the legislature's 2010 retroactive 

amendment to RCW 36.70A.480, a GMA provision that relates to shorelines.  See Laws of 2010, 

ch. 107, § 1(4), § 2.  

                                               28 

40272-6-II

       RCW 34.05.554(1)(d)23 permits a party to raise a new issue on appeal if "The interests of 

justice would be served by resolution of an issue arising from . . . (i) A change in controlling law 

occurring after the agency action."  The remedy is to remand to the agency for determination.  

RCW 34.05.554(2).  

       Here, justice does not require consideration of the Foundation's argument based on the 

amendment to RCW 36.70A.480.  The administrative record has not been developed as to this 

issue.  A published decision from this court already exists clarifying the impact of the amendment 

on the law, although it does not address the specific issue raised by the Foundation.  See Kitsap 

Alliance of Property Owners v. Cent. Puget Sound Growth Mgmt. Hearings Bd., 160 Wn. App. 

250, 255 P.3d 696, review denied, 171 Wn.2d 1030 (2011), petition for cert. filed, No. 11-457 

(U.S. Oct. 10, 2011).  The Foundation asserts no reason why it would be unjust to require it to 

initiate a new administrative proceeding to consider this question.24  We decline to remand this 

23 RCW 34.05.554 states, in its entirety:

       (1)    Issues not raised before the agency may not be raised on appeal, except to 
       the extent that:
              (a)     The person did not know and was under no duty to discover or 
       could not have reasonably discovered facts giving rise to the issue;
              (b)     The agency action subject to judicial review is a rule and the person 
       has not been a party  in adjudicative proceedings that provided an adequate 
       opportunityto raise the issue;
              (c)     The agency action subject to judicial review is an order and the 
       person was not notified of the adjudicative proceeding in substantial compliance 
       with this chapter; or
              (d)     The interests of justice would be served by resolution of an issue 
       arising from:
              (i)     A change in controlling law occurring after the agency action; or
              (ii)    Agency action occurring after the person exhausted the last feasible 
       opportunityfor seeking relief from the agency.
       (2)    The court shall remand to the agency for determination any issue that is 
       properly raised pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.
                                               29 

40272-6-II

case to the Board for further consideration.

       We affirm the Board's final decision and order and its subsequent compliance order.  

                                                           Penoyar, C.J.

We concur:

       Armstrong, J.

       Quinn-Brintnall, J.

24 Also, as asserted by the County, this issue may not be ripe, as "[t]here is no evidence that 
Jefferson County is improperly applying nonconforming use regulations to shoreline 
development."  Response to Mot. for Recons. at 10.
                                               30