Boiler Bay Beacon
PORTLAND — A U.S. District Court judge has issued a scathing ruling against Depoe Bay in a $6 million dollar lawsuit that centers on the actions of two city councilors and their roles in the denial of a building permit.
According to court documents, plaintiffs Manuel and Rosa Castaneda, naturalized immigrants from Mexico who lived the American dream by starting a successful landscape business, purchased an oceanfront property in 2004 to build a family “dream home.” But when they moved forward in 2023 with a greenlight from the city planner, city councilors Fran Recht and Lindsy Bedingfield intervened to derail the application.
According to the opinion of Judge Michael J. McShane, Recht sent a directive to the planning commission ordering it to reject the application. The subsequent 2-2 tie vote resulted in a denial of the application. Meanwhile, Bedingfield, who later resigned to work for the Lincoln Co. planning department, filed a meticulous complaint against the Castanedas over a fence built to keep trespassers off the lot.
When Recht and Bedingfield declined to step aside because of their personal involvement during a 2023 appeal before the council that went 4-3 against the Castanedas, the couple filed a lawsuit claiming the city violated their rights under U.S. and Oregon constitutions. The lawsuit demands $6 million in damages for illegal takings, “inverse” or illegal confiscation, and violations of due process and the equal protections clause of the 14th Amendment, the latter a basis for allegations of racial discrimination. The complaint also seeks punitive damages and attorney fees.
The Jan. 29, 2026, “opinion and order” issued by Judge McShane denied city’s motion for summary judgment and paved the way for a jury trial. McShane termed the planning commission’s 2021 decision “bizarre” and Bedingfield’s “spite fence” complaint “baseless.” As for Recht, McShane wrote that her letter ordering the commission “to deny (Castaneda’s) application before voting herself to deny the application” reinforced the equal protection claim.
McShane called the denial “…arbitrary, irrational and taken with improper purpose.”
“(The Castanedas) provide a plethora of evidence supporting their argument that (Depoe Bay) granted variances and exceptions to many, if not all, similar properties, denying only Plaintiff’s requested variances,” he wrote.
The city council could appeal the ruling, move to trial or seek a settlement. The complete 19-page order is attached to this article.
