PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners have scheduled public hearings on a pair of land-use ordinances that would limit the size of buildings in rural residential areas to 10,000 square feet.
Commissioners Tuesday scheduled Sept. 6 hearings on ordinances to repeal a 60-day moratorium and establish six-month zoning controls on large structures in undeveloped rural lands.
“I think it’s the step that we need to take,” Commissioner Mark Ozias said.
The hearings were triggered by a proposed 32,000-square-foot bed-and-breakfast east of Sequim Bay.
The proposed four-story, 25-bathroom bed-and-breakfast at 695 E. Sequim Bay Road highlighted the fact that Clallam County has no structure size limitation for rural residential zones and limited areas of more intensive rural development, officials said.
“It’s not necessarily so much about a particular application,” Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez told commissioners Monday.
“It’s about what that application highlighted for the planners.”
Commissioners passed a 60-day moratorium on 10,000-square-foot structures in rural residential areas by emergency ordinance July 26.
Attorneys representing Judy Lee, the developer of the proposed bed-and-breakfast, filed a subsequent tort claim challenging the ordinance.
After an Aug. 16 executive session, commissioners followed the recommendation of the county Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and directed staff to take steps to repeal Emergency Ordinance 909.
The state Growth Management Act provides another avenue for the county to temporarily cap the size of structures in rural areas.
The proposed six-month “interim official controls” would give time for planners to develop permanent zoning standards.
“The intent there is to allow the Department [of Community Development] to work with the planning commission to really look at our rural zones and see if we need to look at standards such as building size for certain uses,” county Planning Manager Steve Gray said.
The Sept. 6 hearings will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the commissioners’ boardroom at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
If approved, the interim zoning controls would take effect Sept. 16 at the same time that Ordinance 909 is repealed.
The 10,000-square-foot size restriction would not affect rural commercial zones such as Deer Park and other developed areas along U.S. Highway 101 between Port Angeles and Sequim, Gray said.
Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to call for the hearings.
“I appreciate being able to give developers predictability,” Commissioner Bill Peach said.
Most buildings in rural residential zones are significantly smaller than 10,000 square feet, Gray said.
The proposed bed-and-breakfast would be larger than the Quality Inn &Suites in Sequim and the Clallam County Public Utility District headquarters in Carlsborg.
Community Development Director Mary Ellen Winborn said the building permit application for the bed-and-breakfast was vested July 26, the same day the emergency ordinance was passed.
Because of staff limitations, the International Code Council is handling the plan review, Winborn said.
“It’s just an unbiased third-party review,” Winborn said Wednesday.
“It’s going to be a very thorough review and a very good review.
“That’s from the building permit standpoint, the plan review,” Winborn added.
“And then we have many other planning and zoning issues and shoreline issues that we have to deal with.”
The county Health Department will review Lee’s plans for water and septic for the bed-and-breakfast.
“There’s plenty to do up ahead,” Winborn said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
