A judge earlier this week upheld Clark County’s approval of two housing developments in the Fairgrounds neighborhood that had been challenged by a nearby resident.
Dean Hergesheimer, a retired professional engineer who worked for the city of Battle Ground, filed a lawsuit against Clark County and Vancouver-based Hinton Development over what he says is the county’s incorrect application of county code.
While sympathetic to the residents’ concerns about safety, Clark County Superior Court Judge Camara Banfield ruled in favor of the county and Hinton Development.
“Regarding the question of law, which appears to be the main issue raised by the petitioner, I give deference to the county, who created and enforced its code,” Banfield said. “I’m not convinced a mistake was made.”
Hergesheimer lives off Northeast 174th Street in the Fairgrounds neighborhood, which is included in the county’s upgrade plans for 179th Street. He said 174th Street was built when there were about 20 homes in the neighborhood. Since 2019, two development projects have added another 120 homes using the road. Hergesheimer and his neighbors argue that’s incompatible with the road, which is classified as a future collector road, that exists today.
“The difference between a real collector and 174th Street is, a real collector is 34 feet wide between curves and has sidewalks along both sides. That’s what a real collector is,” Hergesheimer said.
The residents say an additional road is needed to provide access to homes in the neighborhood, and sidewalks are needed to ensure pedestrians can use the roads safely.
“The pavement’s less than 20 feet wide. There are no shoulders. There are no sidewalks. There is no room for pedestrians to maneuver to get away from traffic,” Hergesheimer’s attorney, Bryan Telegin, said during a Jan. 7 hearing. “What this case is really about is how much more traffic can be added to this road and still have it be safe — safe for cars, safe for people.”
This isn’t the first time Hergesheimer has tried to get the county to make changes to its code. He previously appealed the county’s approval of the M&H subdivision to the land-use hearings examiner. Hergesheimer said he’s not sure what he’ll do next but is weighing his options of taking the issue to the state Court of Appeals.
“I’ve been beat, after spending tens of thousands of dollars trying to get to keep the neighborhood safe. That’s been my goal. It hasn’t been to stop development,” he said.
The Building Industry Association, which unsuccessfully filed a motion to present additional evidence after the hearing, has been closely following the case.
Jamie Howsley, attorney for the Building Industry Association, said the case has the potential to affect developers, affordable housing and new building projects.
Had the judge ruled in favor of Hergesheimer, Howsley said, developers would have been saddled with improving roads and other infrastructure outside their subdivisions and unconnected to their projects.
“I think there’s constitutional problems with that,” Howsley said. “But putting that aside, it really should not be the obligation of new developments to go in and retrofit areas that don’t have that existing infrastructure.”
