Court Opinion

ID: 9626278
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 08:07:11.169969+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:06:24.895599
License: Public Domain

Dore, J.
(dissenting) — While I agree with the majority that this case appears to be moot, I cannot agree with the majority's determination that the planning commission design review hearings were not quasi-judicial proceedings to which the appearance of fairness doctrine applies.
*592The rezone ordinance enacted by the Bellevue City Council and the corresponding concomitant zoning agreement executed by the City and the property owners did not determine the legal rights, duties or privileges that are at issue in this action. The terms and conditions of the rezone and concomitant zoning agreement provided
E. Two-story buildings may be permitted by design review, provided the Planning Commission finds that such buildings will not visually intrude upon the residential areas to the west of the property and to the north of N.E. 24th Street.
Plaintiff's exhibit 19: Concomitant Zoning Agreement.
Although the design review hearing was not technically a rezone action, it did constitute a determination and implementation of rezone conditions which established the legal right of Chem-Nuclear to construct a 2-story office building.
It is beyond dispute that in considering rezone applications planning commissions are acting in a quasi-judicial capacity. Hayden v. Port Townsend, 28 Wn. App. 192, 195, 622 P.2d 1291 (1981). The fact that a planning commission may make recommendations only, leaving a final decision on a zoning matter to the city council, does not negate the quasi-judicial nature of the proceedings. Buell v. Bremer-ton, 80 Wn.2d 518, 525, 495 P.2d 1358 (1972). See also Save a Valuable Env't v. Bothell, 89 Wn.2d 862, 576 P.2d 401 (1978).
In the instant action, the City Council delegated to the planning commission the authority to make a fact-finding determination of visual intrusion and the discretion to permit a 2-story building if no visual intrusion was found. It is the exercise of this fact-finding and discretionary function that is at issue.
That this proceeding occurred subsequent to the City Council's rezone action is irrelevant where the design review proceeding, not the City Council action, is that which determined the legal rights of the parties.
The appearance of fairness doctrine requires that mem*593bers of a planning commission "with the role of conducting fair and impartial fact-finding hearings must, as far as practical, be open-minded, objective, impartial, free from entangling influences, capable of hearing the weak voices as well as the strong and must also give the appearance of impartiality." (Italics mine.) Narrowsview Preserv. Ass'n v. Tacoma, 84 Wn.2d 416, 420, 526 P.2d 897 (1974).
Not only do our prior decisions support application of the doctrine to the design review hearings, the Legislature has also given its approval to the scope and application of the doctrine. RCW 42.36.010 provides that application of the appearance of fairness doctrine to local land use decisions shall be limited to the quasi-judicial actions of local decisionmaking bodies. Quasi-judicial actions of local deci-sionmaking bodies include planning commission actions which determine the legal rights, duties or privileges of specific parties in a hearing or other contested case proceedings.
The quasi-judicial nature of the instant action is evident. The action of the planning commission in the design review proceeding was, in actuality, a rezone of the property by imposition of terms and conditions of the previously enacted conditional rezoning ordinance. The action was nonministerial and nonlegislative with localized applicability affecting readily identifiable parties, and determined the rights, duties, or privileges of a specific party.
The quasi-judicial nature and existing financial interest in this case are indistinguishable from those in a long line of cases where we held the appearance of fairness doctrine was violated. See Save a Valuable Env't v. Bothell, 89 Wn.2d 862, 576 P.2d 401 (1978), dual membership in planning commission and chamber of commerce whose membership could financially benefit from action; Swift v. Island Cy., 87 Wn.2d 348, 552 P.2d 175 (1976), county commissioner stockholder and director of a savings and loan which could financially benefit from action; Narrowsview Preserv. Ass'n v. Tacoma, 84 Wn.2d 416, 526 P.2d 897 (1974), planning commissioner employee of bank which *594held mortgage secured by the property subject to rezone; Buell v. Bremerton, 80 Wn.2d 518, 495 P.2d 1358 (1972), planning commissioner owned nearby property which could appreciate in value resulting from the rezone.
Our original opinion in Zehring v. Bellevue, 99 Wn.2d 488, 663 P.2d 823 (1983) properly found the design review proceeding to be a quasi-judicial action and correctly applied the appearance of fairness doctrine to the instant case and found a violation. I would again so hold.