SEQUIM — A civil settlement between the city of Sequim and Priest Road Center developer requires the developer to pay some, but not all, of the fees the City Council originally imposed.
Ed Sumpter filed the suit in December 2009, challenging $151,540 in fees for traffic signals and intersection improvements that the Sequim City Council had agreed to impose on his planned 70,775-square-foot, two-story shopping center on Sequim’s west-side commercial corridor.
Under the settlement, approved by Clallam County Superior Court on Oct. 1, he will pay less than half that, or $70,768.
A win-win
The settlement was a win-win for both parties, City Attorney Craig Ritchie said Wednesday.
Sumpter suggested the settlement did not make him a winner.
“It was a compromise, and nobody’s happy with a compromise,” Sumpter said Wednesday.
“It saved us from going to court, so that was good for us.”
Sumpter now can proceed with preparing the site but must get building permits before construction can begin.
Sumpter, owner of Blue Sky Real Estate on Priest Road and whose Sequim Y3K LLC will build the shopping center, would not discuss the specifics of the settlement.
Under its terms, Sumpter must pay $70,768 in fees for “proportionate” shares for traffic signals at intersections at U.S. Highway 101 and River Road and at Hendrickson Road and North Fifth Avenue, Ritchie said.
He does not have to pay $80,772 for intersection improvements at West Washington Street and Brackett Road, Washington Street and Sequim Avenue, and River and Grant roads, Ritchie said.
Ritchie said the city settled in part because of optional “latecomer agreements,” which impose “latecomer fees” on developers such as Sumpter, for the intersection improvements that had not been filed with the county Auditor’s Office.
Agreements
The agreements “allow a property owner who has installed street or utility improvements to recover a portion of the costs of those improvements from other property owners who later develop property in the vicinity and use the improvements,” according to the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington.
In Sumpter’s case, Walmart and Home Depot were among businesses who had made the intersection improvements and who were required to record the agreements if they wanted to be reimbursed, Ritchie said.
Not recorded
But latecomer agreements were not recorded with the county Auditor’s Office as they should have been, Ritchie said.
“We apparently didn’t have a system to make sure [the businesses] recorded them,” Ritchie said.
Sequim attorney Larry Freedman, who represented Sumpter, agreed the process was flawed.
“They have to be recorded so owners and buyers know the liability,” Freedman said.
“That had not been done, so there was no way to attach it to that property.”
Ritchie said similar problems with other latecomer agreements brought about changes in the process.
Those changes included establishing checklists to ensure the agreements are properly recorded, the filling out of additional forms to guarantee compliance and inclusion of new guidelines into the city code.
“We saw various screw-ups on latecomer agreements,” Ritchie said.
“It was clear the latecomer agreements were not done correctly. We believed if we were challenged on it, we would have a hard time defending it,” he added.
“We’ve kept our records current and trained people so this does not happen again.”
City design standards
Under the settlement, Sumpter also must comply with city design standards related to stormwater maintenance that he had challenged in his suit.
The development is on a critical water aquifer that the city wants to ensure is monitored for contaminants, Ritchie said.
Sumpter must build a stormwater maintenance and operation system that he is responsible for while he is building the project.
He agreed to give the city an easement to monitor the system once the shopping center is built, Ritchie said.
The settlement eliminated the requirement that Sumpter monitor the system after the project was completed.
“We negotiated it so the city would be able to check but it would not be open-ended and not be on Y3K to do all of this,” Freedman said.
Construction proceeds
The binding site plan for the project has been approved, so Sumpter can proceed with constructing parking areas and preparing the site for buildings, Ritchie said.
“The binding site plan lays out pads that are approved, that says you can have something here and something here,” Ritchie said.
“It’s the same as a subdivision, except the property is not intended to be sold. It’s intended to be leased.”
After the site is prepared for construction, Sumpter must apply for building permits and will have to go through an additional design review process if the buildings exceed a certain size, Ritchie said.
O’Reilly Auto Parts is already on the site, which is located across from Home Depot.
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Staff writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-417-3536 or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
