Published November 2003

Appeals court backs Lynnwood PFD’s right
to condemn property

SCBJ Staff

The last piece of the puzzle to build a new convention center in Lynnwood appears to be in place — again.

The state appeals court has backed the Lynnwood Public Facilities District’s right to condemn an electronics store’s property at 36th Avenue W. and 196th Street SW.

Video Only was the lone holdout in the district’s effort to gain control of property on 196th Street SW near I-5 to build the $31 million convention center.

Video Only’s owners have 30 days from the Oct. 6 ruling to either ask the appeals court to reconsider or appeal to the state Supreme Court. Appeals court Judge Faye C. Kennedy wrote the district’s purchase and operation of the shopping center would help fund the convention center, and that allows the district to acquire property through eminent domain.

Video Only argued that if the Lynnwood district continues to operate the shopping center, it taints the “public” nature of the project. If the project were no longer considered public, the district would not be allowed to condemn property for it.

The dispute had turned ugly at times, up to and including a reported agreement on a sale price in August that Video Only’s owners never signed off on. The agreement was announced in the district’s most-recent quarterly report, issued at the end of June, and on its Web site.

Catherine Clark, the attorney representing Video Only, confirmed Video Only has found a new location on the east side of I-5 and is planning to move. She also took comfort in the judge’s opinion, which gave merit to some of Video Only’s arguments.

The appeals court also said Video Only does not have to pay the district for its attorneys fees, which Clark said gives Video Only’s case some legitimacy.

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