BRINNON — The Brinnon Group has filed a land use petition in Kitsap County Superior Court hoping to invalidate the developer agreement and supporting ordinance for the Pleasant Harbor Marina and Golf Resort, a master planned resort.
The Pleasant Harbor Resort is planned to be on 252 acres on the Black Point Peninsula, 2 miles south of Brinnon.
It is designed to have 890 residential units and a nine-hole golf course, as well as a recreation center and a conference center.
The petitioners, a nonprofit group with a mailing address in Granite Falls, Wash., believe that the developer, Statesman Group of Calgary, Alberta, will adversely affect the area, it said in the petition filed Monday.
Members of the Brinnon Group will be “materially injured and damaged by impacts generated by the proposed Pleasant Harbor MPR (master planned resort), including loss of aesthetic and visual resources, traffic, water quality, noise, impacts on rural communities and character and similar impacts” the group said in the petition.
The group has retained Seattle law firm Aramburu & Eustis to represent it in the legal action.
“On June 4, the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners approved a development agreement and new zoning provisions for the Pleasant Harbor Master Planned Report Development,” the appeal says.
“The actions are so vague and ephemeral that they do not meet minimum standards of MPR approvals under either state law or previously adopted Jefferson County regulations,” it continued.
“The plans approved are not really plans at all, but a means of moving planning approval down the road, leaving complete and utter discretion to be exercised on a segment-by-segment basis,” the group said in the petition.
“Importantly, the phasing plan, which begins with the sale of a large number of private residential condominiums, does not contain the provisions needed to assure the development will meet the mandatory standards for an MPR if project development ends at its final phase.”
Reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Statesman Group President and CEO Garth Mann said he was aware of the court filing but that he had not read all of the documents.
“The only question that should be asked is who is The Brinnon Group?” Mann said.
“I want them to identify all of their members and see who are really in Brinnon. I believe they are primarily from out-of-state and have no personal interest in this project.”
Mark Rose, a spokesman for The Brinnon Group and a nearby property owner of the planned resort, said he is “concerned about urban scale development.”
He said he has submitted comments to the county commissioners all throughout the process. The group is composed of “a couple hundred people,” he said, adding that several will be at the next county commission meeting Monday morning to express their concerns.
Attorney Richard Aramburu said in a phone interview that, “There’s shoddy work on this agreement, and it leaves it open to anything at any time. It doesn’t protect us from anything.
“This doesn’t comply with what’s required for a MPR and Jefferson County’s codes,” he continued. “The developer has sketchy, contradictory plans. They can stop at any time, and no bond is required. The developer has shown that he doesn’t have the funds for this type of resort and wants to get money from the state and the county.”
County Commissioner David Sullivan was not concerned about the legal action.
“We spent a whole lot of time on this and I’m confident we did a good job and did it right,” he said.
“We’ll give it an in-depth review with staff on Monday. When we did the 30 conditions, we addressed every single concern people had. We took everyone’s concerns seriously and made our best choices.
“I’m not too concerned about it. This happens, and it’s part of the legal process.”
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.
