Supreme Court Sends Thurston Co. GMA Case to Court of Appeals

The Olympian - By Keri Brenner

"The state Supreme Court on Friday declined to review Thurston County's appeal of a major land-use ruling, instead referring it to the state Court of Appeals in Tacoma.

'It's disappointing news,' said Allen Miller, a county deputy prosecuting attorney. 'It will extend the process - we had wanted the board of county commissioners to get a quicker resolution to this.'

At issue is the county's appeal of a ruling last year by the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board that the county's proposed general plan was flawed. The board ordered Thurston County to rezone its rural lands and shrink its urban growth area boundary to allow for more open space and more protection of natural resources and to curb sprawl."