City of Winlock loses court case

Residents of the UGA sitting in court for the lawsuit filed against them by the City of Winlock.

On Friday, April 14, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. the Lewis County Superior Court was filled with residents who reside in the UGA to hear the case against them. Attorney for the City of Winlock Jim Buzzard argued the case, but in the end Judge Toynbee sided with the citizens and the city lost their claim. There will be no writ of mandamus to permanently annex in the Urban Growth Area, it must be reviewed through the Lewis County Boundary Review Board.

During the case, City Attorney Buzzard argued RCW 36.93.90 and RCW 36.93.100, which is when the 45 days should commence once the city put in their Notice of Intent to Annex. According to Buzzard, it should have started on December 1, 2022 and ended on January 15, 2023. According to Judge Toynbee, it is the Clerk of the Boundary Review Board who sets the 45 day clock, not the assistant. The Clerk of the Board set the time frame and no one from the city said anything until after the citizens filed their petition.

The case lasted almost an hour with the attorneys for the county and the city arguing their positions. The courtroom was filled with the residents of the UGA, 55 of the 64 who were summoned to court appeared. Every resident and business professional was forced to appear in court and take the time off of work, per the summons. The sad reality of the City of Winlock trying to force the annexation, many are asking why are they in such a hurry to annex.

After an hour of deliberations, Judge Toynbee sided with the residents. He stated they do have a right to "have the Boundary Review Board review the annexation." He said many of the same things we had in our article last week, why wouldn't you want the Boundary Review Board to review the annexation to make sure everything is done correctly. Is there a rush because they know they need the money now?

In his final ruling, he sided with the residents, gave the Boundary Review Board time to review the annexation and did not award any attorney fees to the City of Winlock. What does that mean? The City of Winlock spent thousands and thousands of dollars for a frivolous lawsuit.

Per Winlock Resident Victoria Marincin, "Judge Toynbee wisely ruled not to rush the process of Annexation and determined that the City of Winlock had been ready to go through the review board process earlier and should still be ready to go through that process now."

Kathy Chastain, along with assistance of Rick and Victoria Marincin sprang into action immediately upon receipt on March 28 of the lawsuit. Phone calls were made, emails with the needed court forms were sent and returned promptly by the UGA members. Together, they were driven to right this wrong.

When asked for a statement from Kathy she said "We in the UGA are very pleased with the ruling made by Judge Toynbee. It allows the review process of the annexation to proceed, we are confident that the county will assure safety is out front and center for both citizens and residents of Winlock!"

"55 of the 64 summoned responded to the courts," she said. "I believe this visual spoke volumes to the courts. Thank you for taking the time to complete the necessary documents and we all appreciated the added support from those citizens of Winlock and Toledo who took time to represent. It meant a great deal."

This was the first time the residents of the UGA were heard, since the city council has ignored their concerns. The council stated that the residents of the UGA were not citizens of Winlock so they don't care what they think.

The Lewis County News has reached out to Jim Buzzard and Mayor Brandon Svenson for comments but they have not replied as of print time. During the hearing, Mayor Svenson showed total disrespect for Judge Toynbee, texting as his case was being heard. Respect to the judge and the process should always be shown in court.