Jefferson County commissioners decided Monday to hold off doubling the amount of industrial-zoned land at Glen Cove after hearing business owners and Port Townsend city officials.
The commissioners delayed acting on a plan to immediately rezone 60 acres of land near the edge of Port Townsend from rural residential to light industrial in a move meant to boost commercial development in the area.
The plan has drawn opposition from the Port Townsend City Council, which instructed city staff members to testify at Monday’s commissioners’ meeting.
The city officials said the proposal was being pushed through too quickly and that the expansion can only take place as part of the county’s comprehensive land-use plan.
“There is the concern that it’s a narrow area, and that it will become choked,” City Manager David Timmons said of the area east of state Route 20 near the edge of the city.
“It’s the gateway to the city, and the city’s got a lot at stake.”
But the Glen Cove proposal drew support of business owners in the area.
Many said they bought land to develop in the area, then faced unforeseen restrictions and zoning changes in the years following passage of the state Growth Management Act.
“I see people every week who want to start a small business in Jefferson County,” said real estate agent Bill Perka, “but we have no place to put them.”
—
The rest of this story appears in today’s Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
