Editing Ron Sims (section)

===Critical Area Ordinance===
On October 26, 2004, the King County Council passed the controversial Critical Area Ordinance (CAO) to protect environmentally sensitive areas (such as [[wetlands]] and [[streams]]) and restrict development in hazardous areas (such as [[floodplains]] and [[landslide]] prone steep slopes).  The plan drew the ire of many [[property rights]] groups, rural landowners, and developers as the [[Local ordinance|ordinance]] prevented land owners from developing areas of their property that met the critical area definition. This included a requirement that landowners in rural areas that haven't already cleared their land must keep 50% to 65% of their property in its "natural state".<ref>[http://www.seattlepi.com/local/199779_growth16.html Seattle Post-Intelligencer: 'Critical areas ordinance' provokes bitter 'rural vs. urban' dispute]</ref> Three referendums to repeal the ordinance gathered over 17,000 signatures each, far more than the 6,900 required to qualify to be on the ballot.<ref>[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002133729_criticalareas29e.html Seattle Times: Critical-areas ordinances challenged]</ref> However, a lawsuit filed by King County and a pro-[[growth management]] group prevented the referendum from being put on the ballot, and the state Supreme Court ruled that a state law requiring local governments to protect critical areas prevented local referendums from overturning critical area ordinances.<ref>[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003490019_criticalareas22m0.html Seattle Times: Justices reject local vote on critical-areas rules]</ref>
On July 7, 2008, a Washington State Appeals Court found that the portion of the CAO known as the clearing and grading ordinance is an indirect and illegal "tax, fee, or charge", and that prior to restricting the clearing of land for lawn or pasture, King County must demonstrate how that act could cause harm.<ref>[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008038535_criticalareas08m0.html Seattle Times: King County's rural-land restrictions go too far, court rules]</ref>