Preserve Responsible Shoreline Management, et al. v. City of Bainbridge Island, Washington, et al.

The City of Bainbridge Island, Washington, dramatically expanded its shoreline development regulations in 2014. Adversely affected homeowners challenged the regulations. State law required them to bring non-constitutional claims first, in an administrative forum with limited jurisdiction to hear only statutory claims. The agency denied the statutory challenges, and the homeowners subsequently asserted federal constitutional claims in state trial court as required by the Washington Administrative Procedure Act (WAPA). They also sought leave to submit evidence in support of their constitutional claims. WAPA, however, deems all claims raised during judicial review to be “appellate”—even if the claims have never been adjudicated—and limits review to the agency’s record. The state courts accordingly denied the homeowners the right to introduce evidence outside the administrative record in support of their constitutional claims. The question presented is: Does it violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause for a state’s judicial review statute to bar the introduction of evidence outside the administrative record where the evidence is needed to resolve federal constitutional claims over which the agency lacked jurisdiction?