Saldin Securities Inc. v. Snohomish County

AGID, J. -- Snohomish County and its County Council (Council) appeal a trial court ruling that the Councils decisions requiring limited environmental impact statements (EIS) for developments proposed by Saldin Securities, Inc. and NADW Northwest, Inc. (Saldin), and Lawrence and Darlene Whitfield and DD&L, Inc. (Whitfield) were arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law. We hold that the trial court erred in granting a constitutional writ of certiorari to review the Councils EIS decisions because the project proponents failed to establish that extraordinary circumstances justified interlocutory review of the EIS decisions. The grant of the writ, furthermore, contravenes the State Environmental Policy Acts (SEPA) explicit prohibition on piecemeal appeals. We therefore reverse.