Neighbors sued over planned apartments near Boise State. What they just did
A neighborhood’s legal battle over 189 apartments and other homes near Boise State University is back from the dead.
In May, the Londoner Neighborhood Association challenged the city’s approval of a proposed development south of popular restaurant Barbacoa Grill and northeast of the intersection of Broadway and Boise avenues. But Ada County District Judge Jonathan Medema dismissed the suit in November, arguing that the neighbors hadn’t filed within the required time period.
Now, the neighbors are appealing to the Idaho Supreme Court.
“We’re saying the judge got it wrong,” said Brian Ertz, the lawyer representing the Londoner Neighborhood Association.
The crux of the issue hinges on timing. Medema, the judge, said in his decision that the neighbors had 28 days to challenge the project after the city made its final decision on the apartments on April 7. The neighbors filed for review on May 6.
However, Medema and Ertz said the law states that the time period to file is put on hold once someone requests mediation, which Ertz’s client did on March 17.
The question is when the period to file starts up again. Boise’s city code required the applicant to respond within seven days to a mediation request, Medema’s ruling said.
Neither state and city code say what to do if the person doesn’t respond, Medema wrote. Because city code required a response within seven days, and there was no response, that’s equivalent to rejecting mediation, Medema wrote
But Ertz told the Statesman that the city ordinance requiring a response within seven days doesn’t trump state law. Ertz argued that a state statute puts the filing period on hold for 28 days if no one schedules the mediation.
City spokesperson Maria Ortega declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
