Desert Claim - land use and adjudication

On January 30, 2007, we convened a land use hearing at the Kittitas County Event Center. Both Desert Claim and the County agreed that the applicant had not obtained the approvals required by the Kittitas County Code.

The Council issued Order No. 825 on March 7, 2007, finding that the project was not consistent with existing land use requirements and giving the applicant and the county until April 30, 2007, to resolve by mutual agreement, land-use inconsistency issues.

On April 30, 2007, the Council issued Order No. 829, extending the timeline for reaching an agreement until June 30, 2007. If no agreement could be reached by the deadline, the applicant was instructed to file a written request for state preemption.

On June 28, 2007, Desert Claim Wind Power, LLC, filed a formal request for us to recommend preemption of local land use requirements after consideration of the issue in its adjudicatory proceedings.

After an adjudicative hearing on July 13, 2009, the County indicated that it no longer opposed the application as the Council had considered County interests affected by the application, particularly the setback issue. As part of Order No. 843, signed on November 16, 2009, the Council granted Desert Claim's request for preemption. 

On March 27, 2009, the Council issued its Notice of Intent to Hold Adjudicative Proceeding, setting the date for the pre-hearing conference and inviting petitions for intervention.

We convened a pre-hearing conference on April 24, 2009, in Ellensburg. On April 29, 2009, our Council issued prehearing Order No. 838 granting petition for intervention, setting deadlines for pre-filed testimony, and proposing a procedural schedule.

Order No. 840, dated May 12, 2009, denied a petition for intervention and issued a revised hearing schedule. Order No. 841, dated June 10, 2009, granted a request for extending the time for filing pre-filed testimony.

The Council held adjudicative hearings on the Desert Claim application for site certification on July 13, 2009, in Ellensburg. The Council also convened public hearings on the evening of July 13 in Ellensburg and on July 21 in Seattle.

On July 22, 2009, we convened another session in Olympia to inquire about Desert Claim's stipulation and settlement with Counsel for the Environment and the applicant's agreement with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. 

After the hearings, the applicant filed a post-hearing brief, and Kittitas County filed a document expressly stating that it considered its issues with the applicant resolved.