Clallam County Reaches Public-records Settlement With Couple

PORT ANGELES, Wash. (AP) — Clallam County officials have reached a settlement with a couple who sued for public records in 2014, after officials discovered documents that should have been provided earlier.

The Peninsula Daily News says the proposed settlement with Scott and Elizabeth Lange will cost the county about $550,000. County commissioners are holding a hearing Tuesday on the matter.

County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols wrote last week that officials this year discovered thousands of pages documents in the basement of the Clallam County Courthouse as well as on a secured electronic file folder. The couple has been in a long-running land-use dispute with the county and others.

Nichols says the discovered records "fundamentally altered" the county's ability to defend itself against the public-records lawsuit. He says the settlement is the best option to resolve nearly 17 years of contentious land-use disputes.

Under the settlement, the county would buy two of the Langes' lots and an adjacent lot, which will be used as a public waterfront park.