Esplanade v. City of Seattle

307 F.3d 978 (2002)

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Esplanade v. City of Seattle

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
307 F.3d 978 (2002)

  • Written by Tanya Munson, JD

Facts

Esplanade Properties, LLC (Esplanade) (plaintiff) attempted to secure permission to construct nine single-family residential housing on property it owned. The property was zoned as first-class tideland and was completely submerged by water for about half the day. Esplanade applied for building, use, variance, and special-use permits from the City of Seattle (the city). The city did not approve any of Esplanade’s applications. The city’s Department of Construction and Land Use (DCLU) indicated there were three code compliance issues related to the proposed project, including a lack of parking on dry land. The city notified Esplanade of its concerns in a correction notice and Esplanade sought code interpretations from the DCLU for each issue raised. The DCLU interpreted the code to prohibit parking to be built over water in a single-family zone, despite a requirement that single-family homes be constructed with on-site parking. Esplanade appealed this interpretation. The DCLU’s interpretation was eventually affirmed by the Washington Court of Appeals. Esplanade filed an inverse-condemnation claim against the city, alleging the taking of private property without compensation. The city moved for summary judgment. The district court granted the city’s motion, holding that Esplanade failed to establish that the city’s denial of the applications was the proximate cause of the alleged damages and that state law would have precluded the proposed development.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Fletcher, J.)

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