Deer Creek Developers, LLC v. Spokane County
Court of Appeals of Washington
236 P.3d 906 (2010)
Deer Creek (plaintiff) obtained a building permit for Phase I of its residential development but only submitted a site-plan application, never a building-permit application, for Phase II; before Deer Creek applied for a Phase II building permit, Spokane County (defendant) amended its zoning code to prohibit the residential use Deer Creek intended, and Deer Creek was subsequently denied a conditional-use permit. Deer Creek appealed, arguing its earlier site-plan application vested its right to have Phase II evaluated under the ordinances in effect when that application was filed.
Whether a developer must submit a valid and fully completed building-permit application to garner the protections of the vested-rights doctrine and have the application considered under the ordinances that are in effect on the date of the application.