City officials are looking for reimbursement of half the expenses incurred from paving a parking lot.

Sequim city manager Bill Elliott said the lot behind the Planning and Public Works Department is a common parking area, but they need a judge’s decision to make that final.

The city began leasing the office building at 615 N. Fifth Ave. to give its planners a little more room until a new city hall could be found or built. However, there is a question as to whether the parking behind the building is open to all those using services on the property or if it is exclusive in some way.

The building is situated on a planned unit development that includes the building to the north and land to the west. When the Sequim City Council approved the development, long before it thought to occupy the building, a clause in the paperwork identified the parking lot as a common area.

Last year the city paved the lot and access driveway with an understanding that the landowner would pay half. But because there is question as to whether the lot is common or exclusive to Sequim employees, the city has not been reimbursed.

“It seems that everyone is in agreement and this whole thing should move along nicely once we get a decision,” city attorney Craig Ritchie said. “All sides on this issue seem to agree, in theory, but we haven’t gotten anything in writing yet, which is why we filed for the declaration of judgment.”