Court Opinion

ID: 9631081
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 10:28:52.639201+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:07:20.490803
License: Public Domain

Petrich, J.
(dissenting)—I dissent from the majority's analysis of the appellate authority of the Pierce County Council. I agree that RCW 36.70.970 provides that the Council may reserve to itself either decision-making authority or appellate authority, and that the Council has chosen appellate authority. However, I disagree with the majority's assertion that having selected appellate authority, the Council "is not empowered to substitute its judgment for that of the examiner, and it must sustain the examiner's findings of fact if they are supported by substantial evidence." Majority, at 801. While such a standard for appellate review is correct for a court exercising appellate authority, it is not necessarily correct for a legislative or administrative body exercising appellate authority over a subordinate administrative decision.
The general legal principles which apply to appeals from lower to higher courts do not apply to administrative review of administrative determinations. The scope and nature of an administrative appeal or review must be determined by the provisions of the statutes and ordinances which authorize them."
(Citations omitted.) Messer v. Snohomish Cy. Bd. of Adj., 19 Wn. App. 780, 787, 578 P.2d 50 (1978). See also Chaus-see v. Snohomish Cy. Coun., 38 Wn. App. 630, 639-40, 689 P.2d 1084 (1984). RCW 36.70.970(2) provides that a county may make the decision of its hearing examiner "the effect of an administrative decision appealable within a specified time limit to the legislative authority." Pierce County Code 18.10.680(E)(2)(d) defines the Council's appellate authority:
The council’s decision on an Appeal of all land use matters may adopt, amend and adopt, reject, reverse, amend and reverse the findings, conclusion, and decision of the Examiner or remand the matter to the Examiner for further consideration. Any decision by the Council shall be based on the record of the hearing held by the Examiner; however, the Council may *807by motion, request additional information of the appellant or the Examiner.
In my opinion, this ordinance clearly states that the Pierce County Council has reserved to itself the authority to perform a de novo review on the record of the examiner's hearing. The scope of the Council's authorized actions, from adoption through amendment to reversal or remand, is inconsistent with the majority's conclusion that the Council sits with only the authority to determine whether the examiner's findings are supported by the evidence.
I agree with the majority that the Council failed to comply with PCC 18.10.680(E)(2)(e):
If the action of the Council on an Appeal of the decision of the Examiner is to amend or reverse the Examiner, the Council shall prepare a written decision giving [its] findings of fact and conclusions insofar as they may differ from those of the Examiner.
However, I disagree that "under the general law coupled with the specifics of the Pierce County Code", "because the Council did not make findings, it did not disagree with the examiner's findings and is, therefore, bound by them." Majority, at 802. While such a treatment of an unchallenged finding as a verity is a well-recognized principle of appellate law in this state, I believe it is inappropriate to engraft this principle on to the ordinances regulating the Council's appellate authority.14 Messer; Chaussee. I believe the appropriate remedy for the Council's failure to make "findings of fact and conclusions insofar as they may differ from those of the Examiner" is to remand the matter to the Council for it to make such findings and conclusions based on the record of the hearing held by the examiner. I agree fully with the majority's holding that consideration of matters outside that record, particularly comments and "evidence" presented by members of the Council, is improper. *808If the council is unable to make findings and conclusions based on the record of the examiner's hearing, then it should grant the permit. While the majority may criticize a remand for the entry of findings as giving the Council "a second bite at the apple", I believe that it is more appropriate to do so than for this court to determine as a matter of law that there is no evidence in the record from which the Council could make appropriate findings and conclusions in support of a denial of the permit. I would remand this matter to the Pierce County Council for further proceedings consistent with this opinion, not with instructions to grant the permit.
Reconsideration denied February 15,1991.

It has, however, properly been applied to a court's review of the final findings made by the administrative or legislative authority. Fuller v. Department of Empl. Sec., 52 Wn. App. 603, 605-06, 762 P.2d 367 (1988), review denied, 113 Wn.2d 1005 (1989).