FIRST PUBLISHED THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 3:03PM
JZ Knight’s successful Thurston County Superior Court ruling by Judge Chris Wickham made final November 7, 2008 from his Letter Opinion dated October 7, 2008 was overturned by the Washington State Court of Appeals in a ruling issued Tuesday afternoon, April 13, 2010. The City of Yelm appealed the Court’s decision in Fall, 2008.
From JZ Knight’s website:
“In response to the Court of the Appeals opinion issued on April 13, 2010 dismissing JZ Knights LUPA petition and reversing the Thurston County Superior Court ruling,
JZ states, ‘Our attorneys are reviewing the decision and evaluating options.’
Read the Court of Appeals Division II State of Washington Opinion Information Sheet
Read the Public Notice to Residents, Taxpayers and City of Yelm Water System Customers from Nov 2008.”
MAYOR HARDING SAID IN TODAY’S [April 15, 2010] NISQUALLY VALLEY NEWS:
“‘Knight’s already caused the damage with some of these developers,’ Harding said. ‘Some of them have had to file bankruptcy.'”
Ed. Note: This is an appalling comment by a city official – that the developer’s woes are tied to JZ Knight – a statement that is totally out-of-line & demonstrates the caliber of person this man is, passing the buck and is totally opposite what he said last year in the April, 2009 NVN:
“The city has taken the stance in recent years for growth to pay for growth, Harding said.
The city has taken on debt and allowed new growth to pay that debt.
That has changed with the economy, growth slowing and an anti-growth environment.
‘We can no longer operate the system allowing new growth,’ Harding said….”
The developers’ bankruptcy lies at their own hands. They found bankers, who through avarice & greed, tossed wise banking practices to the wind to invest in their dreams to put 5,000 homes (18,000 added people) in a town of 5,000. And, the developers threw their bags in with City of Yelm officials who thumbed their noses at state regulations designed to protect the public’s interests (i.e. Dept. of Ecology water allocations) thinking no one would notice.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE TO PROVE IT HAS WATER UNTIL THE BUILDING PERMIT STAGE IN A DEVELOPMENT — WHICH IS AFTER PLAT APPROVAL.
IN OTHER WORDS, A DEVELOPER WILL BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND CREATE A DEVELOPMENT, PUT IN ROADS, TELEPHONE LINES, WATER, SEWER & POWER AND THEN PROVE WATER WHEN THEY APPLY FOR A BUILDING PERMIT TO BUILD A HOME.
IF THE DEVELOPER AND/OR THE CITY DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH WATER THEN, THE BUILDING PERMIT IS TURNED-DOWN – AFTER ALL OF THAT EXPENDITURE.
DRIVE THROUGH THE UNFINISHED PHASES OF DEFAULTED TAHOMA TERRA NOW & GET A PICTURE OF THE THIS SCENARIO.
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Letter to the Editor
By Leilani Macmillan
Published in the NVN
April 23, 2010
used here with permission of the writer
I find it disturbing that a newspaper claiming to represent the news of the local communities has such biased reporting as to end the article, Ruling sinks Knights lawsuit against city, with only the mayors point of view on this case: Knights already caused the damage with some of these developers, Harding said. Some of them have had to file bankruptcy.
What about a little balance in reporting which would include what some local people said?
I recall reading letters to the editor in your paper thanking JZ Knight for fighting to protect the water supply to existing wells on our aquifer.
Some of these letters were written by people who did not know JZ Knight, but appreciated the legal action she took on behalf of all of us.
If the water supply dropped and deeper wells were necessary, local landowners would have to pay tens of thousands of dollars to drill deeper wells.
City water is affected also in volume and costs by development activity.
I want to say to the mayor and the City of Yelm that the developers are responsible for their bankruptcy. If they had followed procedures outlined in the law, it would have protected their investment.
If they made short-cut deals with the city and the mayor, they created their own financial difficulties.
The city and developers should take responsibility for all of their actions and pay their own legal fees.
I dont want JZ Knight to have to pay legal fees for standing up to the City of Yelms recklessness of making deals with developers without following legal and correct procedures.
The people of greater Yelm want their water supply protected. Of course they do. Why would the mayor and the Nisqually Valley News assume that the readership stands with the mayor and not with a champion trying to protect our existing water rights, JZ Knight?
The behavior of the mayor and the City of Yelm is embarrassing for not being more responsible and mature in handling the affairs of the city.
The Nisqually Valley News is guilty of being extremely negative and biased against anything regarding JZ Knight, who is a valuable member of this community and contributes immensely with her school and her business.
I think I would buy the NVN more often if this negative bias was not the tone of the paper.
Editors note: For last weeks article, channeler JZ Knights attorney Keith Moxon, spokesman Steve Klein and Knight herself all declined to comment on the court ruling. The Nisqually Valley News was referred to Knights website for the channelers response to the decision.
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