Land Use Committee

  • Chair: Eric Wilson
  • Member: Lloyd Olson
  • Member: Roger Gadway

Purpose

To represent the Snowden Community through participation in the Klickitat County Comprehensive Plan update process, and monitoring of Klickitat County land use and zoning changes.

11/06/2024 SCC Meeting: Committee Report: Roger reported that the Committee recently met and agreed that after our experience opposing the recent Snowden rezone, in general our experience and conclusion is that the County’s process does NOT include listening to the citizenry. Roger told of specifically asking the BoCC at two consecutive meetings to answer a direct question regarding the definition of “the public interest” – and while Commissioner Christopher answered directly, the other two Commissioners deflected his question with vague generalities.  Chuck Henschel asked if the rezone decision set a new precedent; the answer from LU Committee members is a resounding “Yes”.  For the first time Forest Resource Land was rezoned into ‘Rural’ Zoning, thereby setting a precedent for opening up to further development large areas of Snowden previously protected by the Snowden Sub-Area Plan. 

 A second issue of concern to the LU Committee is the County’s curious response to James Dean’s application to expand his gravel mining activities on State Hwy 141.  Instead of responding directly to the application, the County seems to be pursuing the creation of an Aggregate Resource Overlay Zone (AROZ) which would (perhaps) allow mining anywhere in the County, at the will of the landowner, without further regard to consequences.  Clarity and more information from the County is necessary, but currently difficult to obtain, before evaluating the proposed AROZ and its implications.

UPDATE 10/08/2024: Wilson-Monroe Rezone Map approved by BoCC. Commissioners Anderson and Zoller signed the amendment to the Zoning Map reflecting the approved rezone of the Wilson-Monroe properties (Commissioner Christopher wrote in “Nay”). The document can be viewed here: Ordinance and Map ZON2023-02 Wilson Monroe Rezone.

10/02/2024 SCC Meeting: Committee Report: Roger announced that the SCC lost their appeal of the Wilson-Monroe SEPA determination of non-significance. Ignoring our many thoughtful, well-researched comments objecting to the Wilson-Monroe rezone application, the BoCC approved the rezone.  All of this was well explained in Dan Christopher’s presentation.  The success of the rezone application has now set a precedent for further development of Snowden.  The worst threats will come from “big-money” owners of large tracts of land in Snowden. The threats to Snowden will be ongoing and get worse; our work is not over.

09/17/2024 BoCC Public Hearing: The SCC lost our SEPA appeal! The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted to uphold the SEPA determination of non-significance for Wilson-Monroe petition SEPA 2023-21 (Commissioners Anderson and Zoller: Aye; Commissioner Christopher: Nay or Abstain on the process, not the content). The BoCC also voted to approve the Wilson-Monroe Re-zone application ZON 23-02. (Commissioners Anderson and Zoller: Aye; Commissioner Christopher: Nay or Abstain on the process, not the content).

09/04/2024 Annual SCC Meeting: Committee Report: Eric reminded the community that the up-coming joint hearing before the Klickitat County Board of Commissioners on the SCC Appeal on the SEPA checklist and the Wilson- Monroe Rezone Application will be held at the Courthouse in Goldendale at 1:00 on Tuesday, September 17.  Written comments must be submitted to the KC Planning Department by Thursday, September 12 to be included in “the packet”, which will ensure that the comments will be read and considered.  Written and spoken (up to 5 minutes) statements will also be accepted at the hearing, though with no assurance they will be thoughtfully considered before a decision is reached by the Board.

The Planning Department guidelines specify that comments already submitted are already under consideration and should not be re-submitted.

08/07/2024 SCC Meeting: Committee Report: Eric said there was not much to report, as everyone is waiting for the Planning Department/BoCC to clarify and describe their procedures, schedule a Hearing on the SCC SEPA Appeal and Wilson-Monroe Rezone application, and notify the Land Use Committee.  (On August 15, Planning Director Scott Edelman notified the LU Committee that Combined Hearing on the SEPA Appeal and Re-zone will be September 17; place and time TBA)

07/03/2024 SCC Meeting: Committee Report: Eric reported that at their June 17 meeting the Planning Commission voted to approve the Wilson-Lee Rezone Application, and passed their recommendation on to the BoCC. The BoCC are now in discussion with the Prosecuting Attorney as to how to proceed; and all appear to be making up “the rules” as they go. The LU Committee is meanwhile compiling “findings of fact”, on the presumption (?) there will be opportunity to make comments at the (as yet) unscheduled combined Rezone-SEPA Checklist Hearing.

07/02/2024: KC Planning Commission Findings Regarding Wilson-Monroe Rezone Request
Executive Summary: The Planning Commission recommended that the Board of County Commissioners approve the rezone.

Land Use Committee Overview and Summary: Wilson-Monroe Rezone Hearing, May 20, 2024

Land Use Committee Hearing Debrief 24-06-04 – and List of Planning Dept. Documents

A recording of the Klickitat County Planning Commission’s 20 May Public Hearing on the Wilson-Monroe Rezone Request (ZON 2023-02) can be viewed here: Video recording.

05/01/2024 SCC Meeting: Committee Report: Eric Wilson reported that the Land Use Committee (he, Lloyd and Roger) went to Goldendale on April 29 and met with the new Planning Director, Scott Edelman.  Scott explained that as he enters his second month in Klickitat County, he is still on a learning curve, especially as to how Washington State and Klickitat County do things differently than Scott’s previous work experience in Oregon.  He explained that our re-zone (not SEPA) hearing before the Planning Commission will be both live and zoom from Goldendale at 6:00pm on May 20.  It will be solely about the the re-zone application. No SEPA comments will be accepted, except where the zone change application refers to information in the SEPA checklist. In discussion it was generally agreed that the most effective comments will compare the re-zone application to the current KC Comp Plan, and the Snowden Sub-Area Comp Plan. Everyone with a concern is urged to comment.   It is recommended that comments be made by May 10, to be included in the “packet” of information being compiled by the Planning Department for the Planning Commission. The format of the hearing is still unclear. Mr. Edelman expects (hopes) that the Planning Commission will extend the time for zone change comments after the hearing to accommodate new thoughts and information that from the hearing. The Planning Commission will likely decide on their recommendation on the re-zone application (to approve, to deny, to approve with conditions, or to table) at their June meeting.  They will present it to the BoCC, who will then schedule the combined re-zone and SEPA appeal hearing.  Discussion revealed that it appears to many that the County is making up procedures as they go along. The Land Use Committee asked the Planning Director why the public comments are not posted; Scott agreed the comments should be posted, but explained he does not have access to do it himself, and that we can expect all comments to be posted at least by when the packet is presented.  Roger commented that when the time comes, the Committee will need to read the comments to identify and respond to any points that we have missed in our previous comments.  Scott claimed the rezone hearing is announced in the Goldendale Sentinel (April 17,2024), but it is not there.  Jenn is waiting for information from the Planning Department on how to make comments in person, by mail or online; and she will post the information on the SCC website. (snowdencommunity.org) (Note: See above)

04/03/2024 SCC Meeting: SEPA Appeal: Roger reported that the County finally set the date of May 20, 2024 for a public hearing before the Planning Commission on the Wilson-Monroe Rezone Application (to take place in Goldendale at 6:00pm, and also accessible virtually). The Planning Commission will then make a recommendation on the re-zone to the BoCC, who will follow up by setting up a combined public hearing before the BoCC that includes both the rezone application, and the SEPA appeal. Details about the hearing location and how to connect via Zoom can be found in the Planning Commission Notice of Public Hearing.

The Land Use Committee is setting up a meeting with Commissioner Zoller and Planning Director Scott Edelman to discuss the SCC call for a moratorium on all County rezones until the Comp Plan is revised. Complications to the SCC call for a moratorium include 1) County ordinance limits such a moratorium to 6 months – not long enough to revise the Comp Plan;  and 2) Moratoriums are limited to areas where proceeding will cause “damage”. Roger and Eric of the Land Use Committee answered the question, “What is the appeal and call for a rezone moratorium all about, anyway?” in summary by saying that the county is very inconsistent in granting re-zones, or not, with no apparent reason; and tending to make the process much easier for the applicant (by pre-approving the SEPA with little or no due diligence) and making it very difficult and expensive for neighbors and experts to have their comments heard and be considered before the County (probably) grants the application.  The SCC is calling for an up to date Comprehensive Land Use Plan for Klickitat County that takes a comprehensive look at Critical Areas, buildable lands, transportation and evacuation corridors, wild life and natural resources, timber and agricultural lands before opening new land up for development.  The revised Plan must outline a clear process in re-zone applications, including a fair hearing of resident and expert comments before approving a rigorously examined SEPA checklist; and finally we want a clear explanation of how land use procedures are conducted fairly and consistently for all concerned.  The current Snowden Sub-Area Plan (2009) took time, hard work, and money to fashion, and should not be over-  turned by a re-zone allowed in a casual manner. The Plan now clearly states that a rezone should only be made for benefit of the community, not just for private benefit.

Another concern of the SCC is that the County Planning Department needs to post all comments on their website soon after the comment period closes. (In the case of the SCC SEPA appeal, the applicant received comments immediately, however it took weeks, and multiple requests for the SCC to receive the comments. (18 supporting the SCC appeal, 1 supporting the rezone application). The Council voted to approve a motion to pressure the Planning Department to post public comments on their website.

Roger, speaking for the Land Use Committee, announced that they would be forming a work group to prepare for the May 20 hearing; and that the 16 categories listed on the SEPA will be posted on the SCC website for volunteers who feel they have some time and expertise to help prepare our case before the Planning Commission.  The work group now consists of  the Land Use Committee (Eric Wilson, Lloyd Olson, Roger Gadway), Fred Greef (wetlands, wildlife biology), Jenn Sharp (oversight, communications).

03/19/2024 SCC Meeting: The next step in the Wilson-Monroe Rezone and SEPA Appeal will be a Planning Commission Public Hearing on the Rezone on 20 May at 6:00pm. After the Planning Commission makes their recommendation on the rezone, the Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) will hold a public hearing for both the rezone and the SEPA appeal. More information on the Rezone Application and SEPA Appeal is outlined below.

The Planning Dept. notice about the Rezone hearing also included the text of an email from Pat Wilson’s attorney, Justin D. Leigh, sent to the Planning Dept., entitled: SEPA2023-21 Appeal Rejection Request.

The new Klickitat County Planning Director, Scott Edelman, has come on board as of early March. The SCC hopes that updating the outdated Snowden Comp Plan will be one of his highest priorities.

The SCC will not be taking any action on the Alley Short Plat Application and SEPA Checklist (SPL2024-05 / SEPA2024-06); however, the SCC submitted a letter to the Planning Dept. calling out some minor issues with the application. For details, see SCC Response to Alley Short Plat Dated 24-03-14.

What is a Short Plat? (in reference to the Alley application):

A subdivision into 4 or fewer parcels is normally referred to as a Short Plat, to distinguish it from larger subdivisions. It is usually considered a routine matter, by the SCC as well as the Planning Department.  It does, however, require a SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) determination.  The SEPA requires that environmental impacts of the action be reviewed.  A SEPA for a short plat in an appropriate zone could be commented on or appealed if, for example, a lot was proposed in a riparian area, but the SCC has, to the best of our knowledge, never opposed one. 

Appeal to Wilson-Monroe Rezone Application & SEPA DNS (ZON2023-02 / SEPA2023-21)

On February 01, 2024, the SCC filed an appeal to the Wilson-Monroe SEPA determination of non-significance (DNS), and will also contest the accompanying Rezone Application. SEPA Appeal and Planning Department payment receipt

Why We Are Appealing

Why the Snowden Community Council is Appealing the Wilson-Monroe Rezone and SEPA DNS AND Calling for a Moratorium on Rezones in Klickitat County

SCC Chairman Roger Gadway’s statement during the Public Comments period of the Klickitat County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) January 30, 2024, meeting. Video of BoCC’s 1-30-24 meeting (Public comments regarding the Rezone Appeal begin at about 6:00 minutes, and end at about 29:00 minutes. Roger Gadway’s statement begins at 12:00 minutes.)

On January 30, 2024, SCC Chair Roger Gadway called on the Klickitat County BoCC to enact a Moratorium on Rezones until the Comp Plan can be updated, and current County practices of issuing ad hoc rezones without community input can be corrected.

Notice of the Wilson-Monroe Rezone Application and SEPA Checklist was published by the Klickitat County Planning Department on 11 January, 2024. Additional information about the request can be found in the Wilson-Monroe Zone Change Petition.

Snowden Sub-Area Plan, adopted November 10, 2009.

Currently, Snowden is the only unincorporated sub-area in Klickitat County with a comprehensive plan. The Snowden sub-area plan (2009) is the second most recently written plan. Only Dallesport/Murdock (2013) has a newer sub-area plan. As a result, Snowden may be lower on the priority list for updates than other sub-areas.