The city also violated procedures in absolving the developer, Hill and Associates of Shoreline, from providing an Environmental Impact Statement detailing the likely effects of the project, Judge Yu found. 

The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation, a non-profit citizens’ group, had taken the City and developer to court in a year-long struggle over the future of seven acres of bluffs and wetlands on 30th Avenue NE, near the boundaries of Shoreline and Seattle.  Springs and ponds at the base of the bluffs give rise to Brookside Creek, a small tributary to McAleer Creek, which drains into the west shore of Lake Washington and supports three species of salmon.

“It is obvious this decision was not made lightly,” said Claudia M. Newman, attorney for the Stewardship Foundation.  “Judge Yu’s ruling was based on an extremely thorough and thoughtful review of the legal arguments and the record before her.  She found that the City failed to follow proper process under state law, and that the city’s decision to approve the development was not supported by substantial evidence.”

Lake Forest Park ordinances require fifty-foot land buffers between wetlands and building sites. Wetland specialists have found that without such buffers the wetlands are soon destroyed, often resulting in flooding and damage to fish habitat downstream.  The exemption which the City granted to the developer would effectively eliminate buffers in the Brookside headwaters, allowing development to the water’s edge.

Judge Yu noted that such exemptions may be granted only with specific proof that the property owner will otherwise lose all reasonable use of the land.  In the absence of such proof, the judge sent the case back to the city. 

The court ruling provides a boost to the region’s long struggle to protect Puget Sound salmon, according to Doug Mitchell, President of the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation.

“Cities have a special responsibility to protect the fish in their local waters,” Mitchell said.  “The judge’s ruling is evidence that our city and others will have to take that responsibility very seriously, and consider at every step what impact their decisions will have on the health of these streams.”