EVERETT —The 50-foot stretch of sand and driftwood nestled between waterfront homes and Puget Sound is 5-year-old K’allen Specht’s first experience with the beach.
On Sept. 26, 39-year-old Specht filed a petition in the Snohomish County Superior Court alleging that Snohomish County’s use of “ghost signs,” concrete barriers and removal of the only parking stall has erased access to that shoreline located at Hillman Place — a public right-of-way created in 1909 near Soundview Drive Northwest in Stanwood.
“It was a peaceful place, a place to watch sunsets,” Specht said. “It’s almost like a public place that was always there, that you could always just enjoy.”
During his last few visits, Specht said he noticed an uptick in measures that gave the right-of-way a closed appearance, such as “No Beach Access” signs. However, calls to the public works department assured him that the public was still allowed access.
“In 2023, I went back, and we saw some additional ‘no-parking’ signs and was confused because there used to be parking there,” Specht said. “I was assured that there was public access over the phone and left it at that, thinking that it was going to be resolved.”
Earlier this year, Specht noticed “By Order of the Sheriff” tow-away signs were installed.
“I tried to figure out more about the signs, and I couldn’t,” he said.
From there, Specht called public works, requested public records and even approached the Snohomish County Council directly on Sept. 17.
“I knew that I only had one more option, and I started to do everything I can to soak up every little bit of legal research that I could,” he said. “I’ve probably spent six to eight hours a night putting this together.”
The petition alleges that while the “No Beach Access” signs were entered into county records, the “By Order of the Sheriff” tow-away signs were installed under the direction of the county’s traffic operations staff with no apparent authorization. In August, a spokesperson from the public works department said in an email the county was still “piecing together” the history of the signs, court documents said.
“Now, there’s nothing inherently illegal about that,” Specht said. “They’re free to run their county as they do, but I think it speaks to the intent behind the lack of beach access, and it doesn’t fulfill their duties to protect and enhance shoreline access.”
Under the Shoreline Management Act, local governments must develop and implement their own Shoreline Master Program, including a public access element. The Snohomish County Shoreline Master Program requires public access on shoreline street ends, right-of-ways and public utilities to be “preserved, maintained and enhanced.”
Court documents allege the false appearance of official enforcement via “ghost sheriff signs” deters the public from entering the public right-of-way and prioritizes resident complaints. The county’s removal of the site’s only parking stall in 2017 and the presence of concrete pillars at the shoreline, despite a Fire Marshal’s recommendation for removal in 2015, further deters access.
The petition seeks a writ of mandamus and declaratory judgment, which would require the county ensure public shoreline access at Hillman Place is clear, visible and usable via installing permanent public access signage, restoring the public parking, removing unlawful or misleading signage and the concrete obstructions, court documents said.
Bridget Casey, Snohomish County’s chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney, said the county is aware of the petition and is currently reviewing it. She declined to provide further comment on Thursday due to the pending litigation.
For Specht, the little beach serves as a peaceful place he could return to even after moving away.
“It’s something that I couldn’t sleep if I left it undone,” Specht said “It’s really something that I’m passionate about, and I feel like there’s some remedies that could possibly be happening.”
Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com; X: @JennaMillikan
