PORT ANGELES — In what was described as a “kumbaya moment,” Green Crow Investments Co. and the O’Brien Meadows homeowners’ association have come to terms on the fate of a 92-acre property that surrounds the quiet community.
Green Crow has agreed to put the vacant property under the control of the association’s covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs) with some exceptions in exchange for a no-protest approval of a plat alteration that would allow for a residential development in a hidden corner of the property.
Neighbors were previously opposed to Green Crow’s application to replace the “open space” designation with the term “remainder lot” out of fear that the latter would lead to an all-terrain vehicle track or hunting, both of which are prohibited under the CC&Rs.
The 92-acre property encircles the 32-lot subdivision southeast of Port Angeles and skirts residents’ backyards.
Clallam County Hearing Examiner Andrew Reeves held a continued hearing on Green Crow’s proposed plat alteration Thursday. He will issue a written decision by June 22.
“At the end of the day, there’s no off-road recreational vehicle use, no hunting,” Green Crow project manager Bruce Emery said of the negotiated agreement.
“The person or the people, or whomever does end up purchasing that lot, can build back there and can have a hobby farm.
“They can do the kinds of things that are allowed in residential areas of the county — farming, livestock, that type of stuff — but there needs to be a reasonable buffer and a reasonable acknowledgement of the role that the remainder lot plays in maintaining rural character,” Emery added.
The 92 acres was always intended to be used for a residential development, Emery has said.
However, the parcel was originally designated as open space on materials filed at the county, preventing residential development.
Clallam County planning staff recommended approval of Green Crow’s plat alteration with conditions.
Emery and O’Brien Meadows homeowners association President Don Roth negotiated other conditions, including a 50-foot vegetative buffer that would “reasonably conceal” any development on the 92-acre property.
Language in the agreement must be disclosed to the land purchaser.
If a single-family residence were to be build on the property, it would be constructed on the northwest corner away from the rest of the community, Emery said.
Water availability is not a consideration in the final plat alteration but would be required before construction.
“I think the agreement that we reached is pretty good,” Roth told Reeves in an hour-long hearing Thursday.
“The homeowners’ association is happy with it.”
The first hearing on the plat alteration was continued May 11 after two hours of public testimony from neighbors who were upset about potential impacts to their quality of life.
With an agreement in place, the second hearing was far less controversial.
“I think that we had a kumbaya moment,” Emery told the hearing examiner.
“And I think that all concerns have been addressed.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
