Sane Transit v. Sound Transit

• Decision Date: 04 March 2004
• Docket Number: No. 73413-5.,73413-5.
• Citation: 85 P.3d 346,151 Wash.2d 60
• Parties: SANE TRANSIT, a Washington non-profit corporation, and Mark Baerwaldt, for themselves and on behalf of taxpayers, Appellants, v. SOUND TRANSIT, officially known as the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, a Washington municipal corporation, Respondent.
• Court: Washington Supreme Court

85 P.3d 346

151 Wash.2d 60

SANE TRANSIT, a Washington non-profit corporation, and Mark Baerwaldt, for themselves and on behalf of taxpayers, Appellants, v. SOUND TRANSIT, officially known as the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, a Washington municipal corporation, Respondent.

No. 73413-5.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Argued June 10, 2003.

Decided March 4, 2004.

Helsell Fetterman Martin et al., Bradley H. Bagshaw, David Jurca, Connie Haslam, Seattle, for appellants.

Paul J. Lawrence, Central Puget Sound Regional Transit, Desmond Brown, Seattle, for respondent.

Sheila Marie Gall, Olympia, for Amicus Curiae (Association of Wash. Cities).

Thomas William Kuffel, Noel Reynolds Treat, Seattle, for Amicus Curiae (King County).

ALEXANDER, C.J.

We have been asked to overturn a decision of the King County Superior Court in which that court dismissed an action by Sane Transit, a Washington nonprofit corporation, and Mark Baerwaldt (collectively "Sane Transit"). In that action Sane Transit sought to enjoin Sound Transit from expending funds collected from local taxes for construction of a 14-mile light rail line from downtown Seattle to Tukwila. Sane Transit contends that the planned light rail line is an unlawful "substantial deviation" from a planned 21-mile light rail line that had been approved by voters. We affirm the trial court, holding that when the voters approved the implementation of a regional transportation system they granted Sound Transit the discretion to scale back the light rail project in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

I

In 1992, the Washington Legislature authorized any two or more contiguous counties with populations of 400,000 or more to create a regional transit authority to address traffic congestion. Shortly thereafter, the legislative bodies of the counties of Snohomish, King, and Pierce each passed a resolution establishing Sound Transit (officially known as the Central Puget Sound Regional Transportation Authority).¹ It was invested with the authority to design and implement a high capacity transit system in a "service area" (hereinafter referred to as Sound Transit's "district") within those counties. RCW 81.112.030(1), .050(1); see also Clerk's Papers (CP) at 340. Sound Transit's district boundary stretches generally from Dupont in Pierce County to Everett in Snohomish County, and from the eastern edge of Puget Sound in the west to Issaquah in east King County. It is governed by an 18-person board whose membership is comprised of the Washington Secretary of Transportation and elected officials from Snohomish, King, and Pierce Counties.

After the voters rejected Sound Transit's 1995 proposal for a $6.9 billion, 16-year regional transit plan, Sound Transit promulgated a second, less ambitious plan in May 1996. This plan, entitled "Sound Move: The Ten-Year Regional Transit System Plan" ("Sound Move"), was envisioned to encompass 10 years of planning and construction at a cost of $3.9 billion (in 1995 dollars) to complete. See CP at 14-57; Decl. of Joni Earl, Ex. B. The plan consisted of four primary projects: a high-occupancy-vehicle (HOV) expressway, a system of regional express buses, commuter rail (the "Sounder"), and electric light rail.

The plan envisioned a 21-mile electric light rail line running from Seattle's University District to the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the City of SeaTac. The line was to run through downtown Seattle and the Rainier Valley neighborhood in south Seattle on its way to the airport. An extension of the light rail line further north to the Northgate shopping center was envisioned, but only if sufficient funds remained after construction of the line from the University District to the airport.² The cost of constructing the 21-mile light rail line was estimated at $1.8 billion (in 1995 dollars).

In August 1996, Sound Transit passed "Resolution No. 75" which authorized submission of Sound Move to the voters for their consideration. CP at 413-26. The proposition, called "Proposition 1," provided for a 0.4 percent sales and use tax increase and a 0.3 percent increase in the motor vehicle excise tax for the residents within the Sound Transit district. CP at 415. The money generated by the imposition of these taxes was to be the primary source of funds for the planning, development, operation, and maintenance of the planned projects set forth in Sound Move.³ As required by statute, the voting public was provided with an 8-page pamphlet that summarized the 36-page (plus appendices) Sound Move plan.⁴ The pamphlet was also entitled "Sound Move: The Ten-Year Regional Transit System Plan." Decl. of Joni Earl, Ex. E. Voters also received a voters' pamphlet which included the ballot title, a brief explanatory statement, and statements for and against the measure. The voters' pamphlet also indicated that the complete text of the measure could be reviewed at the auditor's office of the county in which the voter resided.⁵ Resolution 75 was the measure on file with those offices.

The ballot title for Proposition 1 on the November 5, 1996, general election ballot stated:

To implement a regional rail and express bus system linking Tacoma, Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, other cities, and Sea-Tac airport, shall the Regional Transit Authority impose a sales and use tax of up to four-tenths of one percent and a motor vehicle excise tax of three-tenths of one percent to provide the local share of funding towards the $3.9 billion estimated cost of the system, as provided in Resolution 75 and the "Ten-Year Regional Transit Plan"?

CP at 60. A majority of the voters in the Sound Transit district approved Proposition 1.⁶

By September 2000, Sound Transit became aware that, due to unforeseen circumstances, it would not be able to construct the light rail line within a 10-year period and within the estimated budget.⁷ Sound Transit now estimated the cost of constructing the 21-mile light rail line at $2.5 billion (in 1995 dollars), rather than the original estimated $1.8 billion (in 1995 dollars). By April 2001, Sound Transit concluded that the estimated cost of completing the proposed light rail line had risen even further to $4.164 billion.

On November 29, 2001, faced with the specter of increased construction costs, Sound Transit adopted a resolution that scaled the light rail project down to a 14-mile light rail line running from downtown Seattle to Tukwila with a bus shuttle from the City of Tukwila to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The resolution authorized construction to begin in 2002 with a projected 2009 completion date. The cost of constructing the 14-mile line was estimated at approximately $1.5 billion in 1995 dollars, or approximately $2.07 billion in year of expenditure dollars. Following adoption of the plan calling for a shortened light rail line, Sound Transit indicated its intent to extend the line to complete substantial portions of the additional planned 7 miles of line, either north to the University District or south to the airport, with the remaining $1.2-$1.4 billion it anticipated it would have following construction of the 14-mile line.

Sound Transit's adoption of the plan for a scaled back light rail line prompted Sane Transit to file an action against Sound Transit in King County Superior Court. In its action Sane sought a declaratory judgment that construction of a 14-mile line over a 13-year period was an unlawful substantial deviation from the project approved by the voters. Sane Transit also requested an injunction preventing Sound Transit from spending local taxes on the scaled back 14-mile light rail line and an order barring Sound Transit from using taxpayer funds to build the light rail line. After consideration of Sane Transit's motion for summary judgment, as well as Sound Transit's cross motion for dismissal, the superior court concluded that although it was undisputed that the modifications to the light rail line "substantially deviated" from the adopted plan, the voters had granted Sound Transit the discretion to construct a shortened light rail line. It concluded that both Resolution 75 and the eight-page summary brochure were instructive in determining the voters' intent, and that they "must be read together for purposes of determining the scope of authority of Sound Transit." CP at 855. Based on the language in Resolution 75 authorizing Sound Transit to make certain changes to the Sound Move project, as well as the conclusion that the eight-page brochure did not guarantee the project would be completed "`on time, on budget,'" the trial court dismissed Sane Transit's action with prejudice. CP at 856. Sane Transit sought direct review of that ruling in this court and we granted its petition. Sane Transit also requests that we grant it reasonable attorney fees.

II

We review the trial court's decision on cross motions for summary judgment de novo. Berger v. Sonneland, 144 Wash.2d 91, 102-03, 26 P.3d 257 (2001); Citizens for More Important Things v. King County, 131 Wash.2d 411, 415, 932 P.2d 135 (1997). A motion for summary judgment is properly granted when "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." CR 56(c).

The broad question before us is whether Sound Transit's adoption of a scaled back light rail line that will take more than 10 years to complete was an unlawful substantial deviation from the plan approved by the voters. This question must be viewed in light of established law in Washington that when voters approve taxes for a public project any major deviation to the project is not within the government's lawful power. O'Byrne v. City of Spokane, 67 Wash.2d 132, 136-37, 406 P.2d 595 (1965); Davis v. City of Seattle, 56 Wash.2d 785, 789-90, 355 P.2d 354 (1960); George v. City of Anacortes, 147 Wash. 242, 244-46, 265 P. 477 (1928); Hayes v. City of Seattle, 120 Wash. 372, 374-75, 207 P. 607 (1922); ...