A King County Superior Court judge has flip-flopped on her decision over a controversial Kirkland development – again.

Judge Monica Benton reversed her decision for the second time in a week on whether to allow Bellevue developer Lobsang Dargey to build his Potala Village project under the original zoning that was in place when he applied for a permit.

This time, the judge on Monday ordered the city of Kirkland to honor the developer’s building permit based on 2011 zoning laws.

In her own handwriting, Benton wrote that the court “mistakenly filed” a May 29 order granting the city’s motion for reconsideration, according to her ruling filed Monday. That decision denies the city’s motion for reconsideration.

The city filed a motion for reconsideration on May 20, arguing that when Dargey filed his shoreline permit in 2011, he was only vested in existing shoreline regulations – not the entire zoning laws in existence before the moratorium was imposed.

Benton then vacated her prior ruling on May 29, granting the city’s motion for the court to reconsider whether to allow Dargey to build the project, per 2011 zoning laws.

But the judge’s latest decision on Monday means that the parties are “back to where we were” when the judge signed the developer’s original order on May 9 that the city must process the developer’s building permit, said Robin Jenkinson, city attorney.

Jenkinson said the city may decide to appeal Benton’s most recent decision and will have until July 6 to do so.

“In the meantime, the city must abide by the judge’s May 9 order and accept and process a building permit application according to the zoning and land-use regulations in effect in February 2011,” added Jenkinson.

When Dargey filed his shoreline substantial development permit in 2011, the zoning laws in effect at that time in the neighborhood business district on Lake Street South did not contain any limit on residential density.

His project called for 143 residential units per acre, with 6,000 square feet of retail and parking space on a 1.2 acre lot on 10th Avenue South and Lake Street South.

Following opposition from hundreds of residents concerned about the project’s high density, the city imposed a total of four moratoria and later established a new density limit of 48 units per acre in December of 2012. The new zoning restricted Dargey’s project to a total of 60 units.

City attorneys argued that the project was subject to the new zoning because Dargey hadn’t applied for a building permit.

However, when Dargey attempted to file a building permit application with the city in October 2012, the city refused to accept the application due to the moratorium in place.

Dargey’s attorney Duana Koloušková filed an injunction against the city last May with claims that the moratorium was imposed on the property illegally.

Koloušková did not immediately return requests for comment.

Kirkland resident Chuck Pilcher said “it’s really sad that if this monstrosity gets built as proposed, there will be hundreds if not thousands of joggers, bikers, beach goers, dog walkers and others who look at this and say, ‘How in the world did the city let that get built?'”

“Most people have no clue that a simple mistake in implementing the Comprehensive Plan into the zoning code is at fault, and how hard the community has worked to assure a rational outcome to this debacle,” said Pilcher, adding, “We hope the city continues to back up its aspirations for this property with continued support for the recently-reduced zoning density.”