December 18, 2019
By Lois Krafsky-Perry and Staff
In a letter addressed to the Director of the Planning Commission, local citizen and retired attorney Robert Bilow requested that the Planning Commission clarify its position for moving forward with the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) facility in Sequim.
The letter follows:
“Dear Director and Commission:
“In a December 11 Sequim Gazette article discussing the expected application by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe for a Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) facility in Sequim, reporter Matthew Nash stated:
“If the application comes into the city (sic), it requires administrative staff approval rather than approval from the planning commission and/or city council because of the way the property on Ninth Avenue is zoned.”
“This same article was also published in the December 15 Peninsula Daily News.
“This sounds like a “pro-forma” process by the Planning Commission staff rather than a full review by the Planning Commission or City Council including a full public hearing. I request you confirm that the reporter’s statement is inaccurate and that the Tribe’s application, when received, will not require only “administrative staff approval”, for the following reasons, among others:
‘The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is akin to a foreign nation inasmuch as it possesses “sovereign immunity” and thus cannot be sued in State or Federal Courts by the City of Sequim or anyone else. The United States Supreme Court has made this abundantly clear in cases such as Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Manufacturing Technologies, Inc., 523 U.S. 751 (1998) and Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren, 138 S. Ct. 1649 (2018). If the administrative staff was able to approve the expected Tribe application, even with “conditions”, the City of Sequim would not be able to enforce any violation of the Sequim Municipal Code or any other claimed violation by the Tribe at the MAT clinic since access to State or Federal Courts in Washington would be impossible due to the Tribe’s sovereign immunity. I have additional concerns regarding documentation of the MAT “consortium” of which the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is a member.’
“I recognize that the Director of the Department of Community Development must classify each application upon receipt as A-1, A-2, B, C-1, C-2, or C-3 per SMC 20.01.040. Since this process will involve substantial discretion and certainly involves a “broad public interest”, I would expect that the application will be classified C-2 per SMC 20.01.020.
“However, since the appellate process under the SMC for the Director’ s classification appears somewhat obtuse, I am writing this letter to preserve my right to appeal any such classification determination made by the Director, the Planning Commission, or the Planning Commission staff, thus protecting my appellate rights under the Sequim Municipal Code, the Washington Administrative Procedure Act, and any other applicable statute, rule, or regulation.
“I live just outside the Sequim City Limits, but certainly within the area which will be impacted by the proposed Medication Assisted Treatment facility.”
The letter was sent with cc’s to the Sequim City Council.
Recent Comments