Clallam board mulls hearing examiner selection; extension of current arrangement possible

()

()

PORT ANGELES — The search for a Clallam County hearing examiner might be shelved until next year.

County commissioners said Monday they would consider contract extensions with current hearing examiners Lauren Erickson and William Payne as an alternative to hiring one quasi-judicial officer this spring.

“We have a process that’s in place,” Board Chairman Mike Chapman said in the commissioners’ work session.

“I wonder if we don’t just extend the contract[s] this year.

“It’s only seven more months,” he added.

A an-hoc committee has screened applications from five candidates who are vying to be Clallam County’s primary hearing examiner.

Hearing examiners adjudicate land-use matters, including appeals of Department of Community Development decisions and a variety of land-use permits.

Candidates

The five candidates are Erickson, Payne, Michael McCarthy of Tacoma-based McCarthy & Causseaux, and Andrew Reeves and Ted Hunter of Seattle-based Sound Law Center.

Commissioners Bill Peach and Chapman identified Erickson and Payne as their top choices.

“Personally, I like the ones that demonstrated that they have a connection and understanding of Clallam County,” Peach said.

“I do think Clallam County’s land-use issues are quite diverse in what you’re dealing with on the West End and what you’re dealing with on the East End. Hire someone that knows there’s a difference. My bias would be for folks that understand Clallam County.”

Erickson, a Port Angeles attorney and Payne, a Sequim attorney, have been rotating hearings for a flat fee of $2,250 per case.

Clallam County’s existing contracts with Erickson and Payne will expire at the end of May.

Erickson and Payne are willing to continue the current rotation, County Administrator Jim Jones told commissioners.

“Both of them when they talked to me said they were comfortable with the workload and they were comfortable doing it,” Jones said.

“Both also said they would be willing to be the primary, anticipating that the flood [of hearings] that we had in the last couple years is slowing down to a trickle.”

Commissioners issued a request for proposals from hearing examiner candidates in January after Community Development Director Mary Ellen Winborn suggested one hearing examiner rather than a split rotation.

Committee

Members of the ad hoc committee independently reviewed the applications and provided comments to the board.

“We chose not to do any mathematical tabulation on that simply because there was a lot of subjectivity to it,” Human Resources Director Rich Sill said after the work session.

Peach said the feedback from the screening committee was “quite helpful.”

Commissioners are expected to discuss the hearing examiner’s position in a work session next Monday.

“Why don’t we think about it?” Chapman said. “We could all look one more time.”

Clallam County hearing examiners conducted nine hearings in 2011, 11 in 2012, 20 in 2013, a record 22 in 2014 and 18 last year.

Officials attributed the spike in hearings in 2013 to conditional-use permits for siting recreational marijuana businesses in the wake of state Initiative 502.

“My perception is since the marijuana ordinance was put in place, there was a dramatic decline [in hearings],” Peach said.

________

Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Clallam County Fire District 2 firefighters, with assistance from surrounding districts, work to extinguish fire of beach logs and grasses that scorched a stretch of beach along the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the north end of Four Seasons Ranch and threatened numerous homes on Saturday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Beach blaze contained at Morse Creek

Saturday fire worried homeowners, but no structures affected

Overnight closures of Hood Canal Bridge begin Tuesday

The Hood Canal Bridge will be closed to vehicles, bicyclists… Continue reading

David Conklin/Jefferson County Farmers Markets
Heath Wade enjoys opening day at the Chimacum Farmers Market in 2022.
Chimacum Farmers Market opens Sunday

Special events planned for first day of season

tsr
Crumb family funds nursing scholarship

$150K endowment to aid Clallam County students going to St. Martin’s University

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
The Port Angeles Red Lion Hotel and adjoining 48º North Waterfront Restaurant, shown Friday, are working on plans to expand and upgrade the current facilities, which will include incursion into the existing parking lot -- a proposal that would have an effect on the annual Port Angeles Crab Festival.
Port Angeles city seeks Red Lion expansion comments

Plans won’t affect CrabFest this year but will in future

Kestner Homestead Trail footbridge to be closed for repairs

The footbridge over Kestner Creek along the Kestner… Continue reading

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Gov. Jay Inslee  looks at a patient simulator as Peninsula College nursing instructional technician Terresa Taylor describes its workings during a tour of the college's Nursing Simulation Lab on Friday in Port Angeles.
Inslee tours Port Angeles projects

Town ‘pumping on all cylinders,’ he said

EYE ON THE PENINSULA: Serenity House, Jefferson burn ban on county agendas

Govenment meetings across North Olympic Peninsula

Most Read