Save Vancouver Streets has taken the city of Vancouver to court for declaring its initiative to require voter approval to remove city traffic lanes legally invalid. On Thursday, the grassroots group filed a complaint in Clark County Superior Court against the Vancouver City Council, Vancouver city government and Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey to get the initiative on the ballot. “If the signatures are proper and the county certifies it, then voters should have a say. It is not a good precedent for the city to be the sole arbiter of what they feel is a valid petition or not,” Save Vancouver Streets member Justin Wood said. The city of Vancouver has not received a copy of the complaint, city spokeswoman Laura Shepard said. But the city attorney notified Save Vancouver Streets of the initiative’s illegal aspects in April.

“The city has been expecting a lawsuit and anticipates the court upholding the decision,” Shepard said in an email. Kimsey said he does not comment on pending litigation. Save Vancouver Streets took up the initiative, which received about 6,500 signatures, in response to public outcry over major changes proposed for city streets, including removing lanes on Southeast McGillivray Boulevard, Southeast 34th Street, Northeast 112th Avenue and other thoroughfares. The projects fall under the city’s complete streets program, which was adopted in 2017 and aims to create a transportation network that is available to anyone regardless of how they commute. Residents have said they felt left out of the planning process and didn’t have a say on whether the city removed lanes. City officials say they have hosted open houses, conducted online surveys, and engaged with businesses and residents near the projects.

On Jan. 6, the Vancouver City Council held one of its most attended meetings, with more than 100 people both for and against the initiative packing into council chambers. Earlier that week, city staff sounded alarm bells about the initiative’s possible consequences, including allowing roads to fall further into disrepair and holding the city back from achieving its climate goals. Jonathan Young, city attorney at the time, said the initiative violates state law by overstepping the city council’s authority and interfering with the city’s administrative function. Save Vancouver Streets’ lawsuit accuses the city of usurping the process for handling petitions, which is written into the city charter, and asks the court to force the city to “follow its own charter” or order the county auditor to place the initiative on the ballot in the next election. The group’s attorney, Jackson Maynard, argues the charter does not give the city the right to determine the validity of an initiative. The city only had three options: passing the initiative, passing an alternative measure so it could proceed to the ballot or rejecting the initiative, in which case it could also proceed to the ballot. “Regardless of how people feel about the complete streets initiative and the work the city is doing, all residents should want to respect the right of citizens of the city to follow the city charter and submit an initiative,” Wood said.

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