A leader for the grassroots organization Save Vancouver Streets said he is proceeding with “cautious optimism” after witnessing arguments last week in front of the Washington State Court of Appeals.
“We all felt really good about it,” Justin Wood told Clark County Today after he and colleagues went to Tacoma to watch their attorney, Jackson Maynard, deliver their argument.
Save Vancouver Streets (SVS) is fighting to get its initiative on a future ballot in Vancouver, asking that any future plans to eliminate current lanes on Vancouver streets be approved by voters. In recent years, the city has drastically changed many large thoroughfares, as part of its Complete Streets program.
While some neighborhoods might appreciate the changes, others are set against them.
Wood reminded residents that if the city gets its way, look for more major changes — and fewer lanes for vehicle traffic — on Andresen Road, St. John’s Road, Fourth Plain Boulevard, SE 164th Avenue, as well as Chkalov/112th Avenue.
SVS came up with more than enough valid signatures to work through Vancouver’s initiative process. The city, however, took no action on the initiative. Last summer, the Clark County Superior Court ruled in the city’s favor. SVS appealed.
That appeal was heard Friday, Sept. 11. It could be four to six months before a ruling.
Wood said he liked what he saw in the courtroom.
The three judges asked questions of Maynard, the SVS attorney.
“When the city attorney got up, they grilled her a lot more than they grilled Jackson,” Wood said. “They seemed bothered that the city did not follow its process.”
SVS has always believed it worked within the city’s rules through the initiative process. If the city thought the actual initiative was illegal, it still could have put the initiative on the ballot and then the courts could have decided its legality. One judge, Wood said, seemed disappointed that the city thought the city council could just stop an initiative it did not agree with from moving forward to the ballot.
“While we always felt the initiative we put forward was legally valid, in this state, there’s always a chance an initiative gets to the courts and gets overturned,” Wood said. “Our hope from the beginning was to get certified, go to the ballot, pass. Then the city could go to the courts. We figured we’d take our chances in the court. But the more important thing for me, we would have had a vote.”
That way, Wood said, the city would hear from the people on the matter. If 60 percent, for example, voted for the initiative, maybe city leaders would get the hint that Complete Streets is not for everybody.
On the flip side, Wood acknowledged, if the initiative failed at the ballot box, well at least the public was heard.
Wood said there are a number of possible outcomes from the appeal.
The best for SVS, he said, would be the judges saying that the city did not follow its own process, they require the initiative to be placed on the ballot, then look at the legality of the initiative if it passes.
Another option would be the judges saying the city did not follow the process, but rule on the legality of the initiative before a vote.
And, of course, the judges could rule in favor of the city.
If a ruling comes down in favor of SVS by early next year, Wood said that would be plenty of time for the initiative to go to the ballot for the 2027 city election.
