by Staff Report
The State Court of Appeals on Monday denied the appeal of a Bay View rancher and his wife who had challenged a special assessment to pay for a water line extension down Bay View Road.
Roger and Marsha Pederson own eight parcels within the local utility district created by the Skagit County Puget Utility District No. 1 to build the waterline. The couple challenged the PUD assessments on three of the parcels, according to a court opinion released Monday. Each of the three properties was valued at $12,509, and the couple’s share of the waterline was based on the total value of the assessment.
The price the PUD charged for the waterline wasn’t available Monday night.
The couple sued the PUD in 2007, challenging the formation of the special district and the assessments. Skagit County Superior Court Judge David Needy dismissed the case for procedural and statutory reasons.
The Pedersons subsequently appealed, and the appeals court upheld Needy’s dismissal, finding that the couple’s challenge to the special district was untimely.
