PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners have selected a consultant to review a California woman’s plans for a 32,000-square-foot and 27-bathroom bed and breakfast at Sequim Bay and are expected to approve a letter to her attorney today.
Not at the table during Monday’s work session when commissioners discussed the letter — which says the county agrees to abide by the consultant’s decision — was Mary Ellen Winborn, the elected director of the Department of Community Development, who said she disagrees with much of what is included in the letter.
Winborn, who opted not to attend an executive session last week, said she “couldn’t be part of that because it’s wrong.”
“It’s not the way we’ve ever done it,” Winborn said Monday. “We shouldn’t be treating people differently even if there is a lawsuit.”
The letter will not be discussed during today’s meeting unless a commissioner pulls it from the consent agenda.
Judy Lee, who is proposing a bed and breakfast that would be larger than Clallam Public Utility District’s headquarters in Carlsborg, sued the county and Winborn in December over Winborn’s determination that the project is actually a hotel.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Lee alleges Winborn has worked to thwart her plans to build her dream home — a four-story “bed and breakfast” that features five bedrooms — along the banks of Sequim Bay.
She purchased 5 acres at 695 E. Sequim Bay Road in 2016 to “make her home into an attractive bed and breakfast to allow others to enjoy the area,” according to the lawsuit.
Hotels are not allowed in the zone that Lee’s property is in.
The county and Lee had agreed to have a neutral third party determine whether the building proposed is a bed and breakfast or a hotel — delaying a trial until 2020.
In the letter, the county informs Lee that it has decided Clair Company of Corvallis, Ore., should review the plans for Lee’s structure.
While Winborn doesn’t disagree with having a neutral party review the application, she said the scope of what the firm is being tasked to do is much more than even Lee asked for.
The letter says the firm — which was one of three Lee suggested — will act in lieu of and on behalf of the Department of Community Development and will review Lee’s plans, determine which building code should be used and the county will be bound by the decisions reached by the firm.
Commissioner Mark Ozias said he has no reason to believe the firm will make any different determinations.
The firm will review the plans submitted by Lee against the county’s development regulations and determine what use has been proposed. It will also determine if that use is permitted in the R-2 zone that the property is in.
Lee and the firm will work to determine where the ordinary high water mark is and if the structure is more than 200 feet from that mark, the Shoreline Master Plan and Shoreline Management Act do not apply.
The letter says Lee will submit complete sets of her plans to the firm and to the county and that the letter applies to any amended or revised plans. The letter specifically says the plans will not be reviewed by the Department of Community Development.
“I don’t know what she’s going to submit,” Winborn said.
When reviewing the letter during the Monday work session, commissioners asked attorneys to clarify that there are decisions that will still need to be made by the county, including review of septic and water systems that would be needed for the 27 bathrooms.
Ozias said he would like to see language that is explicit about what authorities the county is not giving up. That language was expected to be included in the letter commissioners vote on today.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
