Friends
of Guemes Island "in order to restrain and prohibit the Skagit County Board of Commissioners and Skagit County from extending the weekday evening hours of operation of the Guemes Island Ferry without a valid and adequate determination of nonsignificance or a valid and adequate environmental impact statement as required by the State Environmental Policy Act..." Judge Declines to Issue Stay Today the Snohomish County Superior Court declined to issue a Writ of Prohibition stopping the Skagit County Commissioners from implementing their resolution to extend the Guemes Island weekday ferry hours from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friends of Guemes Island (FGI) initially filed this legal action against Skagit County ten days ago. The ferry schedule expansion is slated to begin July 1st. In his ruling Judge Richard J. Thorpe did not disagree with FGI attorney Gerald Steel’s argument that Skagit County Commissioners failed to follow mandated state environmental laws prior to making their resolution to extend the ferry hours. Nevertheless, Judge Thorpe was unwilling to take the uncommon action of staying Skagit County with a Writ of Prohibition. Mr. Steel said following the ruling that “other legal remedies to stop Skagit County remain open to FGI.” Gary Davis, President of FGI, stated “Friends of Guemes Island will continue to press Skagit County to follow state law.” David
Wertheimer [6.24.6] |
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Friends of Guemes Island File Suit In Superior Court Today the Friends of Guemes Island (FGI) filed legal documents seeking a Writ of Prohibition from Snohomish County Superior Court to stop the Skagit County Commissioners from implementing their resolution to extend the Guemes Island weekday ferry hours from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The ferry schedule expansion is slated to begin July 1st. Notice of the legal action was also served personally to the Skagit County Commissioners. This legal action was necessary because the ferry schedule extension will have obvious and demonstrable environmental impacts to Guemes Island, whose residents depend on its sole-source aquifer for their drinking water. Despite evidence that ferry ridership has declined, and without documenting any need whatsoever for later hours, the Skagit County Commissioners chose to expand service. In so acting they ignored state environmental law, disregarded recommendations from studies they themselves commissioned, and dismissed survey results showing 75% of Guemes voters oppose hour expansion. FGI intends to pursue whatever legal and political actions are required to preserve the rural character and environmental integrity of Guemes Island, holding Skagit County government accountable to established law and answerable to the people it purports to serve. - Gary
Davis, President [6.13.6] Document filed in Superior Court [56k PDF] Skagit County Files A Response 336k PDF [6.21.6] • FGI Files A Reply 596k PDF [6.22.6] |
