Washington's Supreme Court unanimously upheld King County's approval of Boeing's plan to build corporate headquarters on a 30-acre site near Seattle-Tacoma Airport, rejecting challenges from a local citizens' group. The court ruled the approval was a legislative action rather than a quasi-judicial rezone, meaning the appearance-of-fairness doctrine did not apply, even though two County Council members had accepted campaign contributions from Boeing employees. The ruling also addressed a separate Snohomish County case, allowing environmental-impact statements for two large residential developments to be submitted piecemeal.Open full document
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Washington’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld King County’s approval of Boeing’s proposal to build corporate headquarters on a 30-acre site near Seattle-Tacoma Airport. The court ruled the appearance-of-fairness doctrine was not violated by council members who accepted campaign contributions from Boeing employees, finding the approval was a legislative action rather than a quasi-judicial rezone. Two justices sharply disagreed on whether the appearance-of-fairness doctrine should be retained.