A Thurston County Superior Court judge has ruled that “impermissible racial animus, bias and infringement of the YMCA’s protected free speech rights” illegally factored into the Lewis County commissioners' decision to deny the rezoning of 500 acres of land on the shores of Mineral Lake for a youth camp.
The ruling, filed by Superior Court Judge Allyson Zipp on Dec. 22, orders the commissioners to reverse their previous denials and approve a “master planned resort” overlay on the property within 30 days.
Formal approval is set for a Jan. 16 public hearing, though public comment will not be accepted on the matter, as commissioners are bound by the court decision.
The ruling is a victory for the YMCA’s goal to build a summer camp on the site, which could host 400 campers and 100 staff. It’s a defeat for the county commissioners, who twice sought to stop the project on factors the court deemed were either illegal to consider or irrelevant.
During a community meeting at the Mineral American Legion building Tuesday, Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Barb Russell, Commissioner Scott Brummer and Senior Long-Range Planner Mindy Brooks sought to explain the ruling and the path forward to a crowd of roughly 75 people.
“I did not support the YMCA camp coming in. Most of you are probably aware of that,” Brummer said. “However, we’re in a situation now where the court has decided otherwise. That is unfortunate. While I don’t agree with that, I also know that there is still opportunity for the community, for the people, to move forward with this and be able to get the best possible mitigation of the potential effects the camp will bring.”
According to the ruling, commissioners had no legal basis for the land use decision and were ultimately motivated by bias against the YMCA of Greater Seattle in twice denying the rezoning. Russell said the county opted not to appeal the decision, as it could be responsible for $500,000 in attorney fees and legal costs for the YMCA.
According to Russell, both the Washington state Attorney General’s Office and the Nisqually Tribe filed Amicus briefs in support of the YMCA.
The Lewis County commissioners twice denied a rezone for the land in November 2022 and March 2023. During the first hearing, Commissioner Sean Swope peppered a YMCA representative with questions irrelevant to the decision, such as inquiries on the organization’s stances on critical race theory, defunding the police, gender reassignment surgery for minors and “biological truth,” according to previous reporting by The Chronicle.
“He has said that it is not the reason he made this decision, and I believe him, but the record doesn’t look like it when it’s been discussed,” Russell said.
While Russell cited attorney-client privilege and said she could not disclose what, if any, counsel Swope received before the meeting, she said she believed Swope sought to voice the concerns of his constituents even though it “wasn’t legally OK.”
“It’s called being a politician,” Brummer said. “Sometimes, you open your mouth and overload your rear end. There are times when we do that. I’m not throwing any commissioners under the bus here, but in those discussions, it’s all public record. Anything you say can and will be used against you.”
Brummer also sought to defend his seatmate to the audience after attendees asked whether commissioners could be “coached” in the future to avoid a similar situation.
“We learn from our mistakes. I do believe that we’ve learned,” Brummer said. “But you know what? These commissioner seats change. They’re up every four years. And so the future commissioner coming in may make the same mistake again. So, unfortunately, there’s no way to prevent that.”
Following the November hearing, the YMCA filed a lawsuit in Thurston County Superior Court and wrote in a court petition that the decision was “erroneous” and “discriminatory.”
“In the lawsuit, the YMCA alleged the county followed improper procedure by holding two hearings, had an erroneous interpretation of the law, that the decision was not supported by the evidence, that it was an improper application of law to the facts, and that the decision was unconstitutional because it was based, in part, on bias,” Russell said. “Those were the allegations. And we lost, at least in part, on most of them.”
The lawsuit was put on temporary hold while commissioners reopened the hearing in February 2023, where Swope and Brummer again voted against the rezone and cited concerns about strained law enforcement and emergency services resources and the environment. Commissioner Lindsey Pollock, who joined the board after the first hearing, was the only yes vote on the rezone. She later voted against it.
“I think everything the sheriff said at that February hearing was true, that there is not adequate law enforcement coverage in East County,” Russell said. “And the biggest reason is there’s just not enough personnel to provide that coverage in a very rural and geographically broad area.”
According to Russell, though, the sheriff’s office did not formally voice concerns about a lack of coverage in the area on an adequate facilities form sent to the department.
“It is on the service providers to provide comments back when they cannot provide something,” Brooks said. “That particular issue did not come up from them until we got to the second hearing process.”
In the ruling, Zipp wrote that concerns over law enforcement coverage in the area, among other reasons cited by the commissioners, were premature as “the issue underlying these bases for denial typically are and can be addressed at the project stage and, where necessary, can be mitigated.”
After the commissioners formally adopt the rezone on Jan. 15, Brooks said the next development will come from YMCA when the organization submits a binding site plan for the project.
“When we get that, we will begin the process of the notice of application,” Brooks said. “And the next (State Environmental Policy Act review) will come out.”
The process will provide an opportunity for continued community input, though questions need to pertain to specific concerns, rather than the broad protests of the YMCA or general objections to Mineral’s potential newest neighbor.
“The court ruling does not give the YMCA a blank check to just come in and build whatever they decide to build,” Brummer said. “There’s still a process.”
