Funding Needed!

 We are making progress but we need funds to support us through the next appeals process!

COSTS

Appeal Filing Costs - Skagit County charges $2,100 to file an appeal before the Hearing Examiner and $1,050 to file before the Board of County Commissioners.

Expert witness consultation and producing the environmental report on stormwater from Overlook Crest charge is $5,000. The witness must be paid for travel time and testimony before the Hearing Examiner or for court appearances if needed. Additional witnesses may be needed in future appeals.

Legal advice from an environmental attorney is between $350 - $500 per hour. To date the project has been billed for xxxxx hours. The appellants benefitted from having experience in legal research, the administrative appeals process and how to create and present documents and all are volunteers.

FUTURE APPEALS

Administrative appeals are to the Hearing Examiner and the Board of County Commissioners acting in their judicial capacity. The permits and the project must also be reviewed by the WA State Department of Ecology. If Ecology allows the permits as currently proposed, appellants can file for review by the WA State Shoreline Hearings Board. The developer may also appeal if Ecology's decision denies the permits.The next level of appeals after the Shoreline Hearings Board is Superior Court in Skagit or another County.

The opportunity to settle any appeal is available to all parties at any point in the appeals process. If Overlook Crest developers, The RJ Group, and the appellants can agree on a revised drainage plan to include cleaning and treating the stormwater before it goes into Big Lake, and the plan is acceptable to Skagit County's legal team, Ecology and any other state or national agencies required to review these plans the appeals can be resolved.

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