Elma Airport LLC has filed a lawsuit against Grays Harbor County in an effort to appeal a decision by the county’s hearing examiner that blocked the airport from hosting drag races.
Outlaw Drags, promoted by Rod and Shawn Emerson of Billy Bob Customs, was a weekly drag racing event held every Saturday and Sunday during the summer of 2015 at Elma Airport. In 2016, the Emersons learned they needed a conditional use permit to hold racing at the airport, and that permit was denied by the county’s hearing examiner last month.
With the hearing examiner, Stephen K. Causseaux Jr., denying the permit, Elma Airport LLC had to file a lawsuit in Superior Court to challenge the decision. That lawsuit was filed on Sept. 13.
“The decision should be reversed based on errors of law and fact,” the lawsuit states. “The decision is an erroneous interpretation of the law; the decision is not support by substantial evidence; and the decision is a clearly erroneous application of the law to the facts. The decision also misconstrues and ignores the testimony and evidence in the record.”
While the Emersons were the promoters and outspoken representatives of drag racing at Elma Airport, the airport owner Jeff Wysong was the applicant in the conditional use permit application, and Wysong is the plaintiff in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit asks the court to either find that the conditional use is consistent with county code, or that the decision is not supported, or to determine the decision to be null and voice and of no force or effect. It also requests a stay of enforcement.
The lawsuit also asks for other relief including reasonable costs of attorneys’ fees.
The lawsuit follows a long history of contention between the promoters and the county.
In 2015, the promoters reached out to the county health department asking if permits were necessary for a drag racing event. They were told by a health department official that no permit was necessary, and they were advised to organize Sanicans.
Racing then became a weekly event, with racing most of the day on Saturday and Sunday.
Neighbors of the airport took exception to the excessive noise (see “Drag racing denial was appropriate” on page A-6 for a neighbor’s perspective).
Early this spring, the county told the promoters a conditional use permit was necessary for drag racing.
At a May 9 presentation to the county Board of Adjustment, Jane Hewitt of the county planning and building department briefed the board members about an upcoming hearing regarding the conditional use permit for Outlaw Drags. In her presentation, the promoters argued Hewitt had biased the board against them. They brought their concerns to the commissioners.
The county commissioners, in an effort to provide increased transparency and fairness, passed an ordinance allowing for a hearing examiner and hired Causseaux Jr. from Tacoma as the hearing examiner.
On Aug. 29, following a hearing and testimony, Causseaux Jr. denied the conditional use permit.
