CARLSBORG — After nearly two years of debates and procedures, CA Homes Inc.’s 55-and-older manufactured home project is moving forward in Carlsborg.
Andrew Reeves, Clallam County hearing examiner, approved the long-contested project on Monday, allowing developer Chris Anderson to build 66 manufactured homes on about 8.66 acres of 15.5 acres at the northeast corner of Atterberry and Hooker roads.
No timeline has been provided for construction to begin on the project.
In Anderson’s plans, he said homes range from 1,200- to 1,700- square-feet and will sell for about $150,000. The first phase of the project will include 36 homes.
Opponents have 10 calendar days from Monday to file a reconsideration through the hearing examiner.
Reeves previously denied two versions of Anderson’s plans, starting with a 73-home project in August 2017 and then a similar 66-home project in July 2018.
He also denied county staff’s and Anderson’s reconsideration request last year, too.
Neighbors, calling themselves Concerned Atterberry Neighbors (CAN), have contested the project since its first iteration for a number of reasons, including the project’s feared impacts on threatened fish in nearby Matriotti Creek, traffic and the aesthetic of the rural area.
Charles Meyer, a spokesperson for the group, said they are disappointed in Reeves’ decision but whether they’ll file for reconsideration hasn’t been discussed yet.
“CAN hasn’t had a chance to strategize and consider options,” Meyer said. “We do see the hearing examiner responded to a lot of our concerns in his conditions.”
Some of Reeves’ conditions state Anderson must:
• Widen the north side of Atterberry Road 20 feet from the center lane for the length of the project to accommodate Clallam County’s Six-year Transportation Improvement Plan.
• Put mitigation in place to control erosion.
• Submit a stormwater plan before final plat.
• Connect to the Carlsborg Sewer System.
• Install landscaping buffers and fences along Atterberry Road and the western property.
• Submit a lighting plan to prevent glare and ensure outdoor lighting projects down.
One point of contention throughout the approval process has been the classification of Matriotti Creek as a Type 2 or Type 3 creek. CAN members said it was a Type 2 creek and required a 150-foot building buffer but county staff said it was a Type 3 and required a 100-foot buffer and that a county map saying it was Type 2 was incorrect.
For this proposal, Senior Planner Donella Clark said staff conducted a stream classification meeting on Nov. 14 with multiple agencies to determine if neighboring Matriotti Creek was a Type 2 or 3 stream. They determined it was a Type 3 stream and requires a 100-foot buffer.
Reeves affirmed the county’s decision in one of his conditions, saying: “The 100-foot buffer of Matriotti Creek, a Type 3 stream, must be measured from the ordinary high water mark of the stream per CCC 27.12.315 and shall be confirmed by staff prior to surveying the buffer on the final plat.”
At the project’s Feb. 7 hearing, Alex Sidles, attorney for CAN, said state law should have allowed for contesting parties such as the CAN group, to be included in the stream classification discussion. He also said insufficient detail was provided on how the group came to its decision.
Reeves denied Anderson’s previous request for not having sidewalks as required by the Carlsborg Capital Facilities Plan, not enough overflow parking and not having a plan for the site’s Critical Aquifer Recharge Area.
However, following county staff testimony for this plan, Reeves did not require sidewalks on Atterberry Road. Anderson submitted plans for eight additional overflow parking spots along with two spots in each garage and two spots in each driveway. He also submitted a Critical Aquifer Recharge Area Report that county staff said won’t affect the aquifer/surface water including Matriotti Creek.
For the project, vehicles will access the manufactured home park on Atterberry Road, and in a traffic study it states the new site would add 312 average daily trips to the road, increasing Atterberry Road traffic by about 26 percent.
For more information about the Clallam County Hearing Examiner, visit www.clallam.net/permits/hearing examiner.html.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
Clallam County Hearing Examiner Andrew Reeves, right, has approved a 66-manufactured-home development. A group called Concerned Atterberry Neighbors filed complaints on their own and also through attorney Alex Sidles, at left, to stop the project. Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group
