The following is an April 22 memo to the mayor and city council from Gary Tripp, Director, Bainbridge Defense Fund:
Bainbridge Defense Fund (a Washington non-profit) is assisting six plaintiffs, who will file a class action suit in Superior Court of the State of Washington against the City of Bainbridge Island for monetary damages arising from the Shoreline Moratorium Ordinances Nos. 2001-45, 2002-29, 2003-13, and 2003-34.
The plaintiffs will claim the Shoreline Moratorium prevented all waterfront property owners from constructing, or even submitting an application to construct over-water structures such as docks or piers or single-family protective bulkheads, access stairs, or other normal appurtenances, even exempt structures.
The City’s illegal Rolling Moratoria unlawfully interfered with and denied the plaintiffs statutory and constitutionally-protected property rights to develop their waterfront parcels and protect their homes and structures, as well as the right to sell their property with the certitude of the right of the purchaser to build a protective bulkhead, dock, stairs to the beach and or other normal appurtenances.
The suit has been drafted and the legal work is full funded. The suit will be filed prior to April 30, 2009. The City should not make any financial obligations prior to assessing and funding a reserve for damages.
Gary has been active in issues relating to island politics and regulatory issues for many years. He played an active role in the formation of Bainbridge Shoreline Homeowners, but left our group during the planning stages for this lawsuit. Bainbridge Defense Fund is completely separate and distinct from Bainbridge Shoreline Homeowners. We are not a participant in this legal action. If you wish, you can contact Gary Tripp at gary@tripp.net.
It is unclear how a new law that legalizes shoreline moratoria during the SMP update process will affect the suit. Since the law hasn’t been signed as of this date, it may have no affect at all. See the story by Sean Roach in the Bainbridge Review.
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