PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners are considering a 17.9-acre rezone that would allow for a large scale industrial operation west of Port Angeles.
The undeveloped property is northeast of the corner of South Fey Road and U.S. Highway 101 in the unincorporated Urban Growth Area.
If approved, the zoning would be changed from urban reserve industrial to industrial, paving the way for a yet-to-be-determined industrial use.
The three commissioners, who took no action after a Sept. 27 public hearing on the proposal, discussed the rezone in a Monday work session. A board vote is expected in mid November.
“I very much would like this addressed by the end of the year,” said Commissioner Bill Peach, whose district includes the subject property.
The application for a comprehensive plan and zoning map amendment was submitted by property owner S.G. Hurworth, co-founder and chief executive officer of Port Angeles-based DelHur Industries.
DelHur Chief Financial Officer Tony Sample has said Hurworth intends to market the property for an industrial use.
“We’ve seen a couple of people come in there and want to put in facilities that would employ people,” Sample testified Sept. 27.
Sample said the rezone “makes sense” because the land surrounding the property is already zoned industrial.
The urban reserve industrial zone, which was established in 2011, restricts heavy industrial uses and has more “checks and balances” for sewer and water infrastructure, county Planning Manager Steve Gray told commissioners Monday.
“A heavy industrial use such as an asphalt plant would not be allowed in the urban reserve industrial, but would be allowed in industrial,” Gray said.
The 17.9-acre area includes Hurworth’s 7.7-acre vacant parcel and three adjacent parcels totalling 10.2 acres, according to a staff memo.
The county Planning Commission was split 4-4 after a July 20 public hearing on the proposed rezone.
After further discussion, the Planning Commission voted 6-3 to recommend the zoning change Aug. 3.
Commissioner Mark Ozias on Monday repeated his concerns about the proposal.
“I understand why this makes sense for a number of reasons, but when I look at the six criteria [for a rezone], I find myself still in agreement with the minority on the Planning Commission,” Ozias said.
He noted that an industrial rezone has been proposed for the property three times in the past decade.
“The conditions that suggested the establishment of this sort of intermediary [urban reserve industrial] zoning, none of those conditions have changed,” Ozias said.
“It’s difficult to balance the potential of progress with the reality of years worth of zoning promises, in essence, to the neighbors.
“To say, ‘Well, even though nothing has really changed, we’re going to make a different decision now,’ to me that’s breaking a certain trust with the citizens,” Ozias added. “That makes it tough.”
Ozias said he planned to study new information presented Monday by Department of Community Development staff.
Commissioners are expected to discuss the proposal Nov. 7 and take action Nov. 15.
Sample said Hurworth has already made significant improvements to the property to facilitate an industrial use.
The former log yard has been leveled, filled, graded and contoured. A stormwater drainage system has been installed and industrial road approaches were built, Sample said.
“From the marketing standpoint, we have had people looking at this property, and its tough to tell them ‘No, you cannot put in a 100,000-square-foot building over here, there’s a limit on the size of building you can put on this particular piece of property,’ ” Sample said at the Sept. 27 hearing.
“From a zoning standpoint, we think it’s natural that that area would be contiguous with other areas.”
The city of Port Angeles has a “solid and historic industrial base” surrounding the subject property, Gray told commissioners Monday.
The city, Port of Port Angeles and Clallam County Economic Development Corp. have each supported industrial zoning in the western Urban Growth Area, Gray said.
County Administrator Jim Jones said it has been difficult to attract major businesses to Clallam County because of a lack of industrial land available for purchase.
Gray said the testimony from surrounding land owners has been mixed.
“Some support it,” Gray said. “A lot of them were concerned with expanding industrial land, particularly with the potential for large truck-traffic turns off of [Highway] 101, and a lack of full urban infrastructure to support that kind of development.”
City sewer service has not yet been extended to Fey Road.
The Dry Creek Water Association provides water for the Fey Road area through a two-inch water main.
A minimum eight-inch water main would be needed to support water and fire suppression flow to an industrial development at the subject property, according to a staff report.
Cindy Kelly, Dry Creek Water Association Manager, testified last month that the proposed rezone is still inconsistent with the Clallam County Comprehensive Plan.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
