Department of Natural Resources v. Thurston County

The central issue raised by this appeal is whether the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners, considering whether to deny a preliminary plat on environmental grounds, is bound by a finding of the Shorelines Hearings Board in a related proceeding that the plat is adequate to protect the environmental resource. We hold the County Board is not precluded from reaching a different conclusion on the environmental issue and denying the plat, and that the Board's decision to deny the plat did not violate the applicant's constitutional rights. We accordingly reverse.

At issue here is the…