PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners are considering a rezone that would pave the way for an 18-hole disc golf course on Miller Peninsula east of Sequim Bay.
The three commissioners today are expected to call for a Dec. 8 public hearing to convert about 40 acres of undeveloped, county-owned property along Thompson Road near Old Blyn Highway from rural low to parks and recreation.
No commissioner objected to the rezone or planned disc golf course in a board work session Monday.
The county parks, fair and facilities department requested the code change because it is required for a parks facility.
Parks, Fair and Facilities Manager Joel Winborn has said the goal is to open the disc golf course at the site sometime next spring.
The county Planning Commission voted 6-1 to recommend approval of the rezone Oct. 7.
Commissioners will hold their public hearing at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 8 in Room 160 at the Clallam County courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
In 2004, the Clallam County road department used the Thompson Road property as a depository for debris from an estuary restoration project on Jimmycomelately Creek through an interlocal agreement with the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe.
The northern half of the undulating property was transferred to the parks department in 2013. The southern half was transferred in September.
Volunteers will prune vegetation, cut selected trees, grade the 20-foot-wide fairways and install concrete tee boxes, signs and metal baskets, according an environmental checklist for the estimated $13,700 project.
The object of disc golf is to land a flying disc into a series of metal basket in the fewest number of throws.
The sport has seen a spike in popularity in the past decade, county officials have said.
Disc golf proponents lobbied the county in 2007 to install a course at Robin Hill Farm county park near Sequim.
Neighbors and park users objected, saying disc golf would interrupt the tranquility of the area.
Commissioners in 2010 added disc golf to the county parks and recreation master plan, except at Robin Hill Farm.
“This disc golf thing has had a long history,” said Commissioner Jim McEntire, who represents the east county, in the commissioners’ work session.
“It looks like it’s closed here. So that’s good.”
Port Angeles has a public disc golf course at Lincoln Park.
Smaller private courses are near Carlsborg and in Chimacum.
The Thompson Road property is about 9 miles from Sequim and a half-mile north of the intersection of Old Blyn Highway and Thompson Road.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
