Gun range mediation sparks comments

Posted

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct a quote attributed to Joe D'Amico. The quote in the print edition was incorrect.

Instead of litigating over a proposed shooting range, Jefferson County commissioners unanimously approved a mediation agreement Jan. 16 with JAMS, an alternative dispute resolution provider, to provide mediation services for the county and Joe D’Amico, president of Fort Discovery Corp.

The dispute between D’Amico and the county stems from the commissioners’ Dec. 18 passage of a one-year moratorium on modifying existing or establishing new commercial shooting facilities, and that ordinance’s impact on D’Amico’s business plans for property located near Tarboo Lake, according to a mediation agreement that prompted public comment Jan. 16.

Jefferson County Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Philip Hunsucker emphasized that the mediation process would not be binding and could be terminated by either party at any time, with no requirements that any agreements be reached between the two parties.

Hunsucker said mediation is a vital tool for preemptively avoiding costly litigation, especially given the county’s limited resources.

A hearing on that ordinance remains set for 6 p.m., Monday, Feb. 5 in the Superior Court room of the Jefferson County Courthouse.

CALLS FOR INCLUSION

Those concerned about D’Amico’s plans voiced their concerns about the mediation agreement before the commissioners approved it.

Peter Newland, who lives on the western shore of Tarboo Bay, submitted a letter from the Tarboo Ridge Coalition requesting that the commissioners not only delay the vote approving the mediation by at least a week, but also grant the coalition permission to attend the mediation sessions.

Newland asked the commissioners if the mediation would be binding, and to identify what issues could cause the county to terminate the mediation.

“The assertion that an individual or corporation that has promoted a concept, but has not submitted an application to vest itself, is somehow not subject to the moratorium is nonsense,” Newland said. “A mediation agreement that grandfathered a nonexistent permit application would fly in the face of the moratorium ordinance and the Growth Management Act, and would be utterly indefensible.”

George Yount, now retired, cited his career in mediation to point out that the mediations in which he took part involved multiple agencies and individual groups that were directly affected by the agreements.

“I applaud the concept of mediation,” Yount said. “I don’t see the need to exclude people from this process.”

Yount deemed it “critical” that all citizens of Jefferson County have a voice, lest this issue become an “albatross” for the county, and he wasn’t alone in asking that the community be involved.

“Mediation without all parties involved does not work in the long run,” said Diane Johnson, a Tarboo Valley resident. “Mediation exclusively between Mr. D’Amico and the county has the potential to disenfranchise the citizens of the area affected, who are far more greatly vested in it than Mr. D’Amico.”

Although John Ebner has served as an instructor and a gate guard at the Jefferson County Sportsmen’s Association’s shooting range, he said he was speaking solely for himself, independent of any groups he belongs to, when he joined Yount and Johnson in echoing Newland’s requests to the commissioners.

“This could interfere with the ability of the public to comment at the hearing on the moratorium,” Ebner said.

Ebner said that the Jefferson County Sportsmen’s Association’s shooting range and D’Amico’s proposed shooting facility on Tarboo Ridge represent “two separate and distinct philosophies and operations,” with one being commercial, and the other being “educational, recreational and maintained by volunteers at no cost to the county.”

D’Amico closed out the meeting’s public comment period by challenging the alleged potential impact of his proposed facility to the area’s residents.

On Page 22 of the Jan. 17 issue of The Leader, Fort Discovery President Joe D'Amico was quoted incorrectly. During the Jan. 16 meeting of the Jefferson County Commissioners, D'Amico said, “One thing that I hear here, that I hear a lot of, is they are from Tarboo Ridge. But there is really nobody out on Tarboo Ridge. If you get familiar with the lay of the land out there, there’s literally nobody there for miles around our facility. I hear a lot of people come up here and talk about our facility and it’s not the right location. I challenge them to pull out a map and find us the right location.”

“One thing that I hear here, that I hear a lot of, is they are from Tarboo Ridge. But there is really nobody out on Tarboo Ridge," D'Amico said. "If you get familiar with the lay of the land out there, there’s literally nobody there for miles around our facility. I hear a lot of people come up here and talk about our facility and it’s not the right location. I challenge them to pull out a map and find us the right location.”

D’Amico said he is vested in the area by dint of having commenced the preapplication process with the county’s Department of Community Development.

‘CAUTIOUS GOOD FAITH’

Hunsucker presented the résumé of retired 28-year King County Superior Court trial judge William Downing, who would be mediating the dispute for JAMS. Downing has already mediated a dispute between D’Amico and the Gunstone family, property owners on Discovery Bay from whom D’Amico previously leased land for his former shooting range.

Hunsucker added that both D’Amico and the Gunstone family recommended Downing.

“Mediation will not substitute for the land-use permitting process,” Hunsucker said. “The moratorium comes after a lot of complaints about shooting, not just at Fort Discovery.”

County Administrator Philip Morley amplified Hunsucker’s preference not to include parties in the mediation process other than the county and D’Amico.

“I respect Mr. Yount’s experience in mediation, but those examples of multiparty mediation involved broader issues,” Morley said. “This is a disagreement between two parties about what the moratorium means.”

Commissioner Kathleen Kler, who put forward the motion to approve the mediation agreement, deemed the mediation “a sidecar issue” to the moratorium, but also acknowledged, “This is a matter of trust, and there’s a lot of distrust on all sides. I hope we can honestly lay our issues out on the table.”

Fellow Commissioner Kate Dean, who said she “reluctantly” seconded the motion, noted that she’d heard the public’s concerns about backroom deal making, but she said she would enter the process “in cautious good faith,” with the hope that mediation would preclude a polarized debate and quell “high emotions.”

After Commission Chair David Sullivan concurred that mediation would proceed separately from the moratorium hearing, Morley concluded by pointing out that, even if the mediation process achieves an agreement, it would still need to be brought back before an open session of the county commissioners in order to be adopted.