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FRONT PAGE
County
planners zoning out on Point Roberts
County planners
are continuing to revise zoning laws to get the new Point Roberts
subarea plan off the page and on the ground.
The plan,
adopted in December after almost a year of community consultation,
was intended as a map of how the Point should grow. At a July
10 planning commission public hearing at the Point Roberts community
center planners will present another batch of zoning changes implementing
the plan’s goals.
The county
adopted the first set of zoning changes inspired by the subarea
in March 2002. They include rules for transitional zoning and
cluster housing, changes allowing an airpark with housing lots
adjacent to the airport, and the addition of new small-town commercial
zoning along Gulf Road and Tyee Drive to encourage more pedestrian
friendly development.
“There are
some additional things we discovered in the plan that needed zoning
language to make them work,” said county planner Sylvia Goodwin.
Aside from refining existing language planners are proposing to
add private horseracing facilities as a conditional use and change
the tree retention language to make enforcement more consistent.
Prompted
by a proposal to build a seasonal horse racing park with a year-round
clubhouse, language is being proposed to allow “private commercial
sports facilities and clubs permitted as conditional uses under
section 20.36.165 WCC shall include horse racing tracks and para
mutual wagering as regulated and licensed by the Washington State
Horse Racing Commis-sion, together with the usual accessory uses
including club house, food and beverage service, restaurant and
stables.”
Goodwin
said existing tree retention language needed to be changed so
land use officials and developers were clear it applied to the
whole Point. “It was being interpreted that the tree retention
stuff applied only to Lily Point,” she said. “The intent of the
subarea plan was that it applied to everyone so we substituted
a new tree retention section that applies to the whole Point.”
The new rules would also remove some of the wiggle room in rules
for tree retention.
Proposed
changes would separate the “areas of special significance” section
in the code from tree retention provisions. The “areas of special
significance section” would be modified to read “Point Roberts
includes forested areas that support unique and significant flora
and fauna,” rather than Point Roberts contains a unique forest
habitat.” Other changes would define cliffs at Lily Point as “unstable”
rather than “dangerous” and Lily Point would be recognized as
a “traditional and cultural,” rather than a “significant” Native
American area.
Under a separate
tree retention section rules would enjoin property owners to retain
30 percent of the tree canopy when they develop rather than retaining
trees over eight inches in caliper “to the maximum extent feasible.”
The new rules also establish new requirements for replanting and
standards for clearing practices.
Copies of
the most recent draft changes being proposed will be available
at the July 10 meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at the community
center.
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