Pursuant to statute, the filing of a land use petition in superior court in Washington must occur within 21 days of the final determination by a local jurisdiction's body or officer with the highest level of authority to make a land use determination. RCW 36.70C.040(3).. In Mellish v. Frog Mountain Pet Care decided July 28, 2011, the Washington Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether a motion for reconsideration properly filed with a county hearing examiner tolled the running of the 21-day time limit for filing of a land use petition in superior court until such time as the motion for reconsideration was decided.
This strikes me as a very fair and reasonable reading of the statute governing land use petitions (commonly known as LUPA). The courts have reliably ruled that a party is required to exhaust all appropriate administrative remedies, which may include a motion for reconsideration, prior to filing a land use petition. Given this requirement, it is only fair and equitable, and a reasonable reading of the statute, that a motion for reconsideration tolls the 21-day appeal timeline to allow a party to exhaust all appropriate administrative remedies.
