Chief
08-30-2007, 07:18 AM
STEPHANIE THOMSON, columbian staff writer
May 30, 2001; Page c1
The controversy surrounding Vancouver's special events center shifted from city hall to court Tuesday. As anticipated, city attorneys filed papers in Clark County Superior Court asking a judge to declare two things: that the petitions signed by residents seeking a vote on the center are invalid, and that the city does not have to put the project up for a public vote.
Larry Patella, one of the petitioners who led the referendum campaign, said his group has hired Vancouver attorney Mark Erikson to fight the city in court.
"That's what we plan on doing," Patella said.
Erikson has a history of fighting the city. Last year, he represented Monterey Hotel owners R.K. and Greetaben Patel as they tried to keep the city from condemning and demolishing their building to make room for more development in downtown Vancouver. Erikson lost but has taken the case to the Washington Court of Appeals.
The events center case was assigned to Judge Robert Harris, the senior member of the bench.
City officials hope to have an answer from Harris in 30 to 60 days.
"I can't see it being heard before mid-July," Harris said.
He didn't speculate how long it will take to write an opinion once he hears arguments.
"It just depends on how difficult the issues are," he said.
In the complaint, the city argues:
* The state Legislature granted Vancouver and other cities the power to create public facilities districts to build these type of projects, and that authority cannot be delegated to voters through a referendum process.
* The city's adoption of the ordinance to create the Vancouver Public Facilities District was an administrative act and not subject to referendum.
* The ordinance was adopted as an emergency and is not subject to referendum.
* The petitions signed by more than 3,000 Vancouver residents are invalid because the city charter says a separate sworn affidavit signed by the circulator and a notary public must be attached to each petition.
On May 21, the Vancouver City Council voted 7-0 to declare the petitions invalid because, rather than attach a separate sheet, each petition included a signed statement at the bottom of the page saying the signatures were genuine and made in the presence of the circulator. However, they were not notarized.
The council still wants Harris to say it's OK to toss out the 3,402 signatures.
The publicly financed $59.1 million project would include a 6,500-seat special events center with 28,000 square feet of exhibition space for conventions.
A $20 million, 174-room hotel, which would be privately financed, would be built next door.
The project would be built on a four-block area immediately south of Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver.
May 30, 2001; Page c1
The controversy surrounding Vancouver's special events center shifted from city hall to court Tuesday. As anticipated, city attorneys filed papers in Clark County Superior Court asking a judge to declare two things: that the petitions signed by residents seeking a vote on the center are invalid, and that the city does not have to put the project up for a public vote.
Larry Patella, one of the petitioners who led the referendum campaign, said his group has hired Vancouver attorney Mark Erikson to fight the city in court.
"That's what we plan on doing," Patella said.
Erikson has a history of fighting the city. Last year, he represented Monterey Hotel owners R.K. and Greetaben Patel as they tried to keep the city from condemning and demolishing their building to make room for more development in downtown Vancouver. Erikson lost but has taken the case to the Washington Court of Appeals.
The events center case was assigned to Judge Robert Harris, the senior member of the bench.
City officials hope to have an answer from Harris in 30 to 60 days.
"I can't see it being heard before mid-July," Harris said.
He didn't speculate how long it will take to write an opinion once he hears arguments.
"It just depends on how difficult the issues are," he said.
In the complaint, the city argues:
* The state Legislature granted Vancouver and other cities the power to create public facilities districts to build these type of projects, and that authority cannot be delegated to voters through a referendum process.
* The city's adoption of the ordinance to create the Vancouver Public Facilities District was an administrative act and not subject to referendum.
* The ordinance was adopted as an emergency and is not subject to referendum.
* The petitions signed by more than 3,000 Vancouver residents are invalid because the city charter says a separate sworn affidavit signed by the circulator and a notary public must be attached to each petition.
On May 21, the Vancouver City Council voted 7-0 to declare the petitions invalid because, rather than attach a separate sheet, each petition included a signed statement at the bottom of the page saying the signatures were genuine and made in the presence of the circulator. However, they were not notarized.
The council still wants Harris to say it's OK to toss out the 3,402 signatures.
The publicly financed $59.1 million project would include a 6,500-seat special events center with 28,000 square feet of exhibition space for conventions.
A $20 million, 174-room hotel, which would be privately financed, would be built next door.
The project would be built on a four-block area immediately south of Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver.