Judge Issues Preliminary Injunction Against Chelan County Moratorium On Malaga TIF

A legal ruling this week has temporarily nullified a moratorium issued by Chelan County which seeks to block the Port of Chelan County from moving ahead with the creation of a tax-increment financing (TIF) district in the Malaga vicinity.

On Tuesday, Douglas County Superior Court Judge Brian Huber ruled the Port is legally entitled to pursue its formation of TIF within the unincorporated community in Chelan County, and further found that the County's moratorium is invasive to that process.

Huber signed an order granting a preliminary injunction against the County's moratorium, which was enacted on Sept. 16 after being unanimously approved by the Chelan County Board of Commissioners.

Although Huber heard a limited range of oral arguments prior to issuing his decision, the County's attorney, Rachel Constantino-Wallace, lobbied before the court that the moratorium is an allowable instrument under the state's Growth Management Act which was executed by the County to prevent any changes to current taxation rates before it potentially ratifies its comprehensive plan.

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Huber, whose ruling had not been expected by the County during Tuesday's proceedings, rebuffed Constantino-Wallace's arguments, however, by determining that the County and Port are "co-equal entities" who each possess the right to seek TIF areas without any interference from the other, and added that it's the court's duty to "harmonize state statutes" instead of using them in provoking territorial taxation disputes.

Tuesday's ruling by Huber was swift and he described the case as being very straight forward despite its perceivable complexities, saying from the bench, "I’m not convinced the County is above the Port" regarding any theoretical chart of ranking authority for local government agencies.

In an email to NewsRadio 560 KPQ, Chelan County Commissioner Shon Smith said of Tuesday's decision, "While the court preliminarily sided with the Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority, Chelan County was invited by the judge to file a motion for reconsideration. We will be doing that within the 10-day deadline. Chelan County Commissioners wish to assure the people of Chelan County that we will continue to seek all legal options in regards to the TIF and continue to prioritize our residents and the junior taxing districts impacted by this proposed TIF."

Despite its blocking of the moratorium, the injunction does preserve the County's ability to conduct land-use code enforcement and permitting.

Huber's order will stay in effect as the County's lawsuit against the Port regarding the issue continues.

The injunction comes less than a week after Port commissioners rejected the County's offer to pay the Port $1.5 million a year for the next 25 years if it would put aside its pursuit of a TIF district in Malaga.

The County conducted a public hearing on its moratorium on Sept. 23, and the Port has two public TIF briefings scheduled in the weeks ahead, including one on Nov. 18, and another on Dec. 9.

Port commissioners were not immediately available for comment regarding Tuesday's court ruling.