SEQUIM — A decision is expected soon from Sequim’s hearing examiner on Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County’s Sequim Avenue Development townhome project.
If the conditional use permit and binding site plan are approved by hearing examiner Peregrin Sorter with Laminar Law, the project would include 45 homes with a combination of fourplex, triplex and duplex townhomes on about 6.5 acres at the intersection of East Brownfield Road and South Sequim Avenue.
Sorter heard applicant, city staff and public testimony on May 22 in the Sequim Civic Center, and had 10 business days to file his decision.
Colleen Robinson, CEO of Habitat for Humanity, said in an interview that Habitat has reduced the number of townhomes due to a wetland on site. Habitat’s application states 48 townhomes were slated to be built.
At the hearing, Robinson said they are looking for “permanent affordability” using a land-lease model where homeowners own the structure above ground and Habitat retains the land. When homeowners move, Robinson said there will be a deed restriction that the homes can only be sold to people at or below 80 percent of area median income.
“That keeps permanent affordability, which respects all of the donors and government money that’s going towards this project,” she said.
Robinson said her agency will continue to raise money as they go along with proceeds from Habitat’s other construction projects. So far the agency has received a $2 million Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) grant in 2024 from the state Department of Commerce and other grants to support below-ground infrastructure.
Conditions
Sequim city staff recommended Sorter approve the project with several conditions, such as requiring archaeological permits through the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, adding a fence on the full east side of the property due to neighbors’ concerns and more.
Habitat staff would be required to add frontage improvements on South Sequim Avenue and East Brownfield Road, and it also would connect to Sequim’s water and sewer utilities.
Tyrell Bradley, representing Habitat at the hearing, said the agency agreed with most of the conditions but took issue with a condition’s verbiage that states “duplex and four-plex units shall utilize shared driveways where feasible to minimize curb cuts and reduce potential traffic conflicts.” He felt the word “shall” might be defined differently between current and future staff members.
City staff stated that there’s a minimum 125-foot spacing required between existing and proposed intersections, and that Habitat must request a deviation to remain less than that distance from the Bell Creek Estates subdivision slated to be built across from Habitat’s property west of South Sequim Avenue.
Nick Dostie, Sequim’s city engineer and deputy director of public works, said at the hearing that Habitat must either reconfigure its entrances or request a deviation, and he recommended they communicate with developers of Bell Creek Estates across the street.
Robinson said in an interview she was frustrated with the city-imposed condition as Habitat officials first applied in October 2023 and had to file twice and pay $8,000 twice in filing fees for the project due to disagreements with city staff about wetlands.
“The amount is not insignificant, especially for a nonprofit,” she said.
Traffic
According to Habitat’s traffic consultant, Heath & Associates of Puyallup, the project will generate 407 total average weekday daily trips.
In the consultant’s report, they write, “ultimately, it should be noted that the proposed development minimally impacts (U.S. Highway 101 and Sequim Avenue ramps) contributing less than one second of additional delay during the PM peak hour.”
The consultant did not recommend mitigation.
For the Bell Creek subdivision, its 104 lots would keep nearby intersections at an “acceptable level of service” except for the South Sequim Avenue/U.S. Highway 101 eastbound left-turn intersection, according to its traffic study. However, city staff said that intersection would be addressed in the city’s Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan.
“(Habitat’s project is) still operating at that deficiency, (but) this project will not make it any worse,” Sequim senior planner Travis Simmons said.
Encroachment
A few neighbors from the nearby Alpine Meadows subdivision shared concerns for the Sequim Avenue Development infringing on their property and they asked for a pause in procedure so homeowners could analyze the potential impact.
Simmons and Bradley said the proposal would not infringe on neighbors’ land.
Bradley said there’s 43 feet between the property line and the first building structure.
“We worked with the city to increase that,” he said.
Bradley added that any retaining walls nearby must be structurally analyzed and be provided in a report with the construction permit application.
Carlsborg
With a hearing examiner decision looming for the Sequim Avenue project, Robinson said the “best-case timeline” would be starting homes in mid-2027. However, she said that’s a “shot in the dark.”
Habitat’s other major Sequim area project, Lyon’s Landing in Carlsborg, is waiting on engineering to be completed, Robinson said.
She anticipates the engineering being complete in a few weeks and then staff will send out a request for proposal (RFP) for a contractor to build 45 homes ranging from 1,200 square feet to 2,000 square feet each at 303 Mill Road. The site will be for affordable workforce housing infrastructure when an individual’ s income is between 80 percent and 120 percent of the area median income (AMI).
For more information about Habitat projects, visit habitatclallam.org.
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. He can be reached by email at matthew.nash@sequimgazette.com.
