PORT TOWNSEND — Future marijuana production and processing on rural residential or forest resource land could be banned if the Board of Jefferson County Commissioners approves amendments to the Comprehensive Plan.
The three commissioners began discussions Monday for the annual cycle for proposed amendments to the county’s Comprehensive Plan, including possible changes to the marijuana growth and production regulations, updates to the Port Hadlock sewer project and more.
Last year’s Comprehensive Plan cycle was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The proposed amendments were drafted by the county Department of Community Development and were first taken up by the county Planning Commission, which held a public hearing in February and approved the four amendments, said Austin Watkins, interim planning manager, in his briefing with the commissioners Monday.
The changes to marijuana production could change the code from allowing production and processing on rural residential and forest resource land through a conditional discretionary use permit to not allowing further sites to be permitted, Watkins said.
Currently there are three sites on rural residential land and one site on forest resource land, he said.
The change would also remove cottage industry performance standards for marijuana processing. However, production does not fall under the cottage industry designation, Watkins said.
The county would still allow production and processing on rural and urban industrial-zoned lands, and production would continue on agricultural lands. Processing and retailing on agricultural land would also continue through a conditional discretionary use permit, Watkins said.
The possibility of some Brinnon residents within the Brinnon Limited Area of More Intensive Rural Development (LAMIRD) connecting to the Dosewallips State Park sewer system is among the plan’s amendments.
The amendment establishes a policy and development regulation that provides a comprehensive policy that addresses issues and exceptions required by the state and the Growth Management Act for adding sewer connections in rural areas, LAMIRDs, sewering as an essential public facility in rural areas, and sewers to rural schools that serve both urban and rural students, Watkins said.
Specific plans on inclusion of service, improvements to the sewer and other capital planning actions will happen later, as the policy and development regulation essentially “tees up” the following work for the county to move forward, Watkins said.
The amendments regarding the Port Hadlock sewer project bring the plan up to date with the current project plans, such as adding the modular treatment plant that utilizes membrane bioreactor technology to treat wastewater that is planned for sewer, as well as a adding the six-year financing cost estimated to be $27.09 million, Watkins said.
By adding the updated information to the Comprehensive Plan, it will assist with applications for financing, board chair Kate Dean said.
The last amendment change is for a specific 22.51-acre site near Airport Cutoff Road and Romans Road, changing it from a rural residential 10 (RR10) zone to an RR5 zone, which would allow for one house to be built per 5 acres, as opposed to one house per 10 acres, Watkins said.
The commissioners will deliberate on the amendments on April 5. They’re required to make a final decision by April 30, due to the resolution they approved in October.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
