Best Time RV heard, county responds to building-permit proposal

By Meg Olson

Whatcom County has issued a Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) on proposed zoning text changes to allow auto/equipment repair facilities in Point Roberts in areas permitted by underlying zoning, and specifying the size of buildings for the use.

The change was proposed in response to a request from Best Time RV to erect a building at their new location on Tyee Drive. “Right now the county can’t permit a building for RV storage” or repairs, said county planner Nick Smith, because of a gap in the code that covers building sizes for that use in a Local Area of More Intense Rural Development (LAMIRD), and all of Point Roberts falls under that designation. The state Growth Management Act established that building size in a LAMIRD needed to be consistent with the size buildings were for that use when the act went into effect in 1990 and Smith said the established zoning text did not list a comparable use.

The staff-initiated amendment will take the size of the building at the marina designated for boat repair as a benchmark. “We aren’t changing anything to do with uses, just buildings,” Smith said. The maximum building size proposed is 6,732 square feet; this size is for the use in zones where it is allowed, such as general commercial where Best Time is now located.

The Whatcom County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the proposed changes on April 26 and further information will become available on their website.

Public comments on the proposal can be submitted to Matt Aamot at Whatcom County Planning and Development Services now until 4 p.m. on April 24 at maamot@whatcomcounty.us.