Medina Grocery owner suing city over permits

The eight-year fight over the historic Medina Grocery has taken another turn with the store owner suing the city over what she says were manipulative and bad-faith permit decisions.

Hae Lee of Medina filed the lawsuit in King County Superior Court last week under the state Land Use Petition Act and on Friday filed a claim asking for $5 million in damages.

The City Council denied Lee's request last year to expand the retail use of the store, and last month it denied a similar permit to change some of the store's use to offices.

The old Medina Grocery was in operation from 1910 until 2000, when Lee closed the store because it needed repairs and was without a tenant. Lee said she intended to rebuild the store with the same look and a deli and coffee counter — and eventually tore it down in 2005. Along the way, some neighbors objected to the rebuild and unsuccessfully sued to stop it.

The exterior of the new building has been complete since last year, but the opening has been mired in a dispute between Lee and the city.

According to Lee's legal claims, the city talked to her during the past couple of years about renting part of the store for city storage or offices. Lee says the City Council denied the permits during the last year or so in an attempt to force her to agree to cheaper rent.

The council is "leveraging their government power to try to get a good deal on the lease," said Charlie Klinge, Lee's attorney.

City officials declined to comment Friday on the legal claims, but City Manager Mark Weinberg wrote a letter to residents Oct. 10 explaining the city's side of the dispute. He said the city had talked to Lee about leasing part of the building but negotiations broke down.

Lee has had legal clearance to open the grocery store for more than two years, subject to building inspections and an occupancy certificate, but instead has twice tried to change the use of the building, he said.

The council last month said the latest permit request would have allowed Lee to convert more than half of the revenue-producing floor area from a grocery store to office space. That would have been outside the historical character of the property, the council said.

In the lawsuit, Lee says she requested both permits only after working with city staff and receiving the approval of the planning commission. She said the city's restrictions on the building made it difficult to make money without changing the use of some of the building.

Ashley Bach: 206-464-2567 or abach@seattletimes.com