Court Opinion

ID: 9560470
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:49:34.017028+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:12:56.125680
License: Public Domain

Sweeney, J.
(dissenting) — The majority holds that the decision of the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners to uphold conditional approval of Herschel and Elizabeth Sparks' short plat application was arbitrary and capricious. I respectfully dissent.
The Sparkses assert that the County's application of Douglas County Code 17.20.060, requiring the dedication of land from these parcels for future road improvements, constitutes an uncompensated taking in violation of article 1, section 16 of the Washington Constitution and the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution.
The Washington Legislature has mandated that counties shall not approve subdivision development unless appropriate provisions are made for public health, safety and general welfare as well as for streets and other public ways. RCW 58.17.110. To that end, "[djedication of land to any public *60body, may be required as a condition of subdivision approval . . .". Former RCW 58.17.110.
Permanent physical invasions of private lands are generally held to be takings. Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp., 458 U.S. 419, 426, 73 L. Ed. 2d 868, 102 S. Ct. 3164 (1982). However, subdivision approval conditioned upon dedication of private property rights for public use is permissible if the subdivision is expected to have an adverse impact on the public interest and the condition is calculated to specifically and proportionately compensate for this adverse public impact. Presbytery of Seattle v. King Cy., 114 Wn.2d 320, 336 n.30, 787 P.2d 907, cert. denied, 498 U.S. 911 (1990); Nollan v. California Coastal Comm'n, 483 U.S. 825, 836-37, 97 L. Ed. 2d 677, 107 S. Ct. 3141 (1987). The trial court found that the record contained evidence to support the County's determination of adverse impact.
We review to determine whether the County's action is unlawful, arbitrary, capricious or corrupt. RCW 58.17.180. Arbitrary and capricious action is
willful and unreasoning action, without consideration and in disregard of facts and circumstances. Where there is room for two opinions, action is not arbitrary and capricious even though one may believe an erroneous conclusion has been reached.
Kenart & Assocs. v. Skagit Cy., 37 Wn. App. 295, 299, 680 P.2d 439 (quoting State v. Rowe, 93 Wn.2d 277, 284, 609 P.2d 1348 (1980)), review denied, 101 Wn.2d 1021 (1984).
Our review is limited to a determination of whether the facts and circumstances in this record were either disregarded or not considered by the trial court and by the Board of County Commissioners when it authorized the plat subject to the dedication. Lechelt v. Seattle, 32 Wn. App. 831, 835, 650 P.2d 240 (1982), review denied, 99 Wn.2d 1005 (1983); Kenart, at 298-99.
"Findings of fact supported by substantial evidence are verities on appeal." Cowiche Canyon Conservancy v. Bosley, 118 Wn.2d 801, 819, 828 P.2d 549 (1992). Substantial evidence is that quantum of evidence sufficient to persuade a *61fair-minded person of the truth of the declared premise. Robinson v. Safeway Stores, Inc., 113 Wn.2d 154, 157, 776 P.2d 676 (1989).
Most of the facts considered by the county commissioners and the trial court were uncontested, including the County's statistics for current and projected road use, current road widths, and required road standards. The County estimated current road use on Empire Avenue N.W. as approximately 220 vehicle trips a day. The Superior Court used the County's statistics in finding of fact 2.14:
[T]he four proposed short plats will result in either 16 single family residences or 32 duplexes . . . each residence generates on an average of 9.5 ADT’s [average daily trips] per day which mathematically computes ... at a minimum of 152 ADT to a possible maximum of 304 ADT's. The County performed traffic counts on each of the access streets. Comparing these traffic counts with the projected ADT's resulting from the short plats reveals that the developments will approximately double the traffic in the area.
The Sparkses presented evidence that even a 100 percent increase in road use would not significantly impact the current roads; however, the court found that the Sparkses had failed to show the Board's action was willful, unreasonable and without consideration of or in disregard of the facts and circumstances.5 That decision is supported by substantial evidence.
We should not substitute our findings for those of the trial court. Thorndike v. Hesperian Orchards, Inc., 54 Wn.2d 570, 575, 343 P.2d 183 (1959); see also Valley View Indus. Park v. Redmond, 107 Wn.2d 621, 630, 733 P.2d 182 (1987); Whitworth Water Dist. 2 v. Spokane, 15 Wn. App. 634, 636, 550 *62P.2d 1181 (1976). "Where there is room for two opinions, an action taken after due consideration is not arbitrary and capricious even though a reviewing court may believe it to be erroneous." Abbenhaus v. Yakima, 89 Wn.2d 855, 858-59, 576 P.2d 888 (1978). The finding of the trial court that the action of the County is not arbitrary or capricious is amply supported by the evidence.
Review granted at 124 Wn.2d 1017 (1994).

The majority states that the County must have "immediate" plans for road improvement to justify a dedication of the right of way lands. Majority, at 58-59. Unlimited v. Kitsap Cy., 50 Wn. App. 723, 728, 750 P.2d 651, review denied, 111 Wn.2d 1008 (1988). The dedication condition in Unlimited, however, failed to satisfy a clear requirement for conditional plat approval: the right of way was not needed to compensate for an adverse public impact. In fact, the County in Unlimited simply wanted "to hold the exacted property until some undefined future time when Randall Way can be extended to connect with other, as yet unbuilt, roads." Unlimited, at 728. The "immediate use" language of Unlimited should be limited to the facts in that case.