The Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a small group of San Juan County council members did not violate the open public meetings law by meeting informally with county officials and employees.
Affirming a lower court ruling, the Supreme Court said the team of council members working on an update of the county's critical areas ordinance did not constitute a committee of and did not act on behalf of the council.
The original lawsuit filed by the Citizens Alliance for Property Rights asked the court to invalidate several county ordinances due to violations of Washington's open meetings act during discussion of the new laws.
Washington's open meetings law says a quorum of a government body cannot meet in private and conduct the government's business. The San Juan County Council consists of six voting members, so it cannot act without a yes vote from four members. Other requirements of the open meetings act include meeting notices and recording of activities.
The majority opinion, written by Justice Charles Wiggins and signed by five other justices, relied on a 1986 state attorney general opinion of the way committees are formed, which said the council would have had to act to form the team to make it an official committee.
"None of the voluminous documents that CAPR (Citizens Alliance for Property Rights) obtained during discovery and cited in its court filings suggest that the council took any such action," Wiggins wrote. He said county staff formed the group, not the council.