Local News
County says back to square one
Published on Fri, Jul 27, 2012 by Meg OlsonRead More News
County planners are recommending denial of the Point Roberts Beach Club application after the state rejected the proposed sewer system for the project.
The state department of health notified the applicant on May 23 that the large on-site septic system proposed to serve the entire development could not be approved due to shallow water tables recorded during winter monitoring.
The current design is for a 62-unit development of 5,000 square foot lots clustered at the south end of the property which is located at the east end of APA Road.
Under county code the smaller lot size is only allowed with public water, sewer and a permanent open space reserve, said county planner Amy Keenan, so without an approved large on-site septic system they cannot recommend approval of the project. On July 11, county planning and development services sent a memorandum to the county hearing examiner asking that a hearing be scheduled at which time they would recommend denial.
Keenan said the day the memorandum was issued the applicant submitted a revised site plan with larger lot sizes, less open space and community drainfields to serve clusters of homes. These smaller systems do not need state approval but fall under the jurisdiction of the county health department.
“At this point we’ve gone back and forth,” she said. “That’s a redesign, and we’d like that to be under a new application.” The current design had been under review since November 2010.
An April 16 notice granting a 60-day extension for the applicant to get required approvals from the county had stated “no further extension will be granted and the county will continue to process the application and either approve or recommend denial.”
Writing on behalf of the applicants, Duana Kolouskova called the planning department’s memorandum “premature at best,” and requested the hearing examiner delay a hearing until they have a new design and an approved septic system. She stated they expected approval of a new system by the county health department “within a month.”
The state department of health notified the applicant on May 23 that the large on-site septic system proposed to serve the entire development could not be approved due to shallow water tables recorded during winter monitoring.
The current design is for a 62-unit development of 5,000 square foot lots clustered at the south end of the property which is located at the east end of APA Road.
Under county code the smaller lot size is only allowed with public water, sewer and a permanent open space reserve, said county planner Amy Keenan, so without an approved large on-site septic system they cannot recommend approval of the project. On July 11, county planning and development services sent a memorandum to the county hearing examiner asking that a hearing be scheduled at which time they would recommend denial.
Keenan said the day the memorandum was issued the applicant submitted a revised site plan with larger lot sizes, less open space and community drainfields to serve clusters of homes. These smaller systems do not need state approval but fall under the jurisdiction of the county health department.
“At this point we’ve gone back and forth,” she said. “That’s a redesign, and we’d like that to be under a new application.” The current design had been under review since November 2010.
An April 16 notice granting a 60-day extension for the applicant to get required approvals from the county had stated “no further extension will be granted and the county will continue to process the application and either approve or recommend denial.”
Writing on behalf of the applicants, Duana Kolouskova called the planning department’s memorandum “premature at best,” and requested the hearing examiner delay a hearing until they have a new design and an approved septic system. She stated they expected approval of a new system by the county health department “within a month.”
Kolouskova also stated the applicants felt there was “no need” for the new design to be reviewed under the state environmental protection act (SEPA) as the original design for the project which envisioned a larger property with larger lots, and the current design, have both undergone SEPA reviews. “All environmental considerations have been taken into account,” she said.
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