A year and eight months after the Friends of Grays Harbor and Grays Harbor Audubon Society filed a lawsuit against the State Parks and Recreation, State Recreation Commission, Recreation and Conservation Office, Westport Golf Inc., city of Westport, J D Financial Corp, and Mox Chehalis LLC over the proposed Westport Golf Links project, the plaintiffs and defendants had the opportunity to present their case at Thurston County Superior court on Nov. 21.

The $30 million project (to be paid for by private investors), six years in the making, is projected to bring recreation, economic, environmental and health/safety benefits to Washington’s picturesque Pacific coastline. Westport Golf Links investors on plans to enhance and improve the 600-plus acre Westport Light State Park by adding the new public golf course to approximately 200 acres of the State Park.

One of the questions the plaintiffs sought a ruling on was whether a conservation easement follows the land through change of ownership from a prior project to build a golf course on the site.

Following an hour-long session of oral arguments, Judge Anne Egeler issued a ruling that the plaintiffs — Friends of Grays Harbor and Grays Harbor Audubon Society — don’t have standing to enforce the Army Corps declaration. Additionally, she ruled that the Recreation and Conservation Office is dismissed due to lack of interest in the case, pending agreement of the parties.

Judge Egeler specifically stated that she was not ruling on “ability of anyone to enforce the Army Corps declaration with respect to future permit, application, or projects that are not before this court.”

“Basically, what this [ruling] does is it removes an impediment for us to do the legal process of getting a permit and if we do it legally, and under the state Environmental Policy Act, there is a very clear process to getting a permit to do something like this,” said Ryann Day, president and CEO of Westport Golf Links, adding that “the state Environmental Policy Act was created to put in safeguards for public concerns, and we are wholeheartedly in agreement that we should follow that process and we’re actively doing it.”

Janet Strong, president of the Grays Harbor Audubon Society, was among the Audubon members in attendance during the court hearing.

“We were all disappointed in the judge’s ruling, of course,” Strong said.

There are still a few more issues to be ruled upon, and a motion hearing for a partial summary judgment and preliminary injunction will be held on Jan. 16.

In the meantime, Westport Golf Links is moving forward on drafting the Environmental Impact Statement. As was reported in September, they are reviewing the submitted comments and drafting responses. Of the nearly 1,300 comments received, Day said that around 600 require a response, and he expects they will publish the Environmental Impact Statement in the first quarter of next year.

Strong’s concern is that once the final Environmental Impact Statement is issued, the city will begin applying for all the permits simultaneously. The Grays Harbor Audubon Society will respond, she said, “but it makes it more difficult if you have to deal with several agencies and several boarded permits all at the same time.”