| Division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals issued an opinion on June 28 that marks the third time a Kitsap County couple has won the right to build on their land.
Mossano v. Kitsap County involved a couple’s efforts to build a single family house on their 5 acre waterfront property, which fell within Kitsap County’s Critical Areas Ordinance because of its proximity to wetlands. Because of that, Kitsap County told the Mossanos they could not build their proposed house.
The couple challenged the county under the “reasonable use” exception to the ordinance, arguing that the proposed house was the only reasonable use of the property and if denied, would constitute a taking of their property for public use as a wetland without compensation.
The Mossanos prevailed before the Hearing Examiner, who ruled they could build. The county commissioners, in what is widely viewed as a political capitulation to local environmentalists, reversed the Hearings Examiner.
The Mossanos appealed to the Superior Court, which reversed the Commissioners and reinstated the decision of the Hearing Examiner. The County appealed once again. The Court of Appeals affirmed, agreeing with the Hearing Examiner that the Mossanos had no other reasonable use of their property.
At presstime, the county hadn’t yet made a decision on whether or not to appeal the case to the Washington Supreme Court. | 
