The Rocky Reach Trail took another small step forward yesterday when Judge Hotchkiss ruled that the Douglas County commissioners had acted properly in late March by authorizing the building of the trail. Yet, as is to be expected given the history of this issue, trail opponents indicated they will probably appeal. The Wenatchee World prepared the following report about the ruling.
Doug Pauly, formerly a co-chairman of the Complete the Loop Coalition, the group spearheading the effort to build the Rocky Reach Trail, attended this ruling and stated that Judge John Hotchkiss possessed an impressive understanding of the case. Pauly said, “After almost two hours of presentations from both sides, Hotchkiss summarized his viewpoints on the case and ruled that Douglas County Commissioners had acted properly in late March. There was nothing ‘iffy’ in his decision; this is another significant legal win for the trail.”
At WenatcheeOutdoors we’ve followed this issue and we’ve attended many of the important rulings. We were hopeful after the March ruling that perhaps the issue was put to bed because the Douglas County Commissioners came to such a firm and unanimous decision that the trail was legal and that its impacts had been mitigated for. “The decision is final, at least for us,” Commissioner Keane had stated before he joined the other two commissioners in approving the recreational overlay needed to build the trail. The subtext of this ruling had been clear: Game over…don’t bring this back to us…move on.
Nonetheless the Seattle attorney representing the trail opponents was immediately telling the reporters present at that March decision that the commissioners didn’t understand the law and, of course, the trail opponents would appeal. This same brazen rhetoric continues to be the trademark of this legal team after this newest defeat and we fear that the motive behind the endless appeals is (caching): More billable hours.
Decision after decision indicates that the trail opponents are throwing good money after a weak position. Before this issue goes yet another round, we hope the opponents solicit second and third opinions from uninvolved lawyers. The opponents need to hear -- from impartial attorneys who are not viewing the case as an on-going paycheck—whether or not an appeal has legs.