Spanaway Concerned Citizens v. Pierce County — Tacoma Rescue Mission Homeless Housing Village Survives Land Use Challenge; Sleeping-Unit Density Formula and Permit Vesting Upheld
The Washington Court of Appeals, Division II, affirmed Pierce County’s approval of a Tacoma Rescue Mission shared housing village, holding that (1) the county’s density formula counting each sleeping unit as 0.25 dwelling units is valid and controls density compliance, and (2) a land use hearing examiner lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate fee-title ownership disputes—a permit applicant that submits a statutory warranty deed and title insurance satisfies its ownership obligation even if a challenger asserts a competing historical claim to a portion of the property.