By Don Nelson
What started out a few years ago as some minor tweaks to Winthrop’s comprehensive plan has instead involved into a wholesale rewrite of the documents that guide the town’s development.
A draft of the proposed updated plan — which was first adopted in 1999 and hasn’t changed much since — is now available for public review before the planning commission and, ultimately, the Town Council act on it.
The proposed comp plan includes a new zoning map that has fewer land-use categories than the existing plan.
The plan includes chapters on land use, transportation, utilities, housing, parks and recreation, capital facilities, shorelines and economic development. It is intended to identify a broadly defined vision for the town’s development and also provide detailed guidelines for how that can happen.
Town Planner Rocklynn Culp said that the elements of a shared vision for Winthrop, based on residents’ input, include the importance of its western theme, access to outdoor recreation and a rural, small-town feel.
When the planning commission and Culp started reviewing the plan about three years ago, it quickly became evident that minor adjustments wouldn’t be enough, Culp said, and that a substantial overhaul was required.
The town sought comments at public forums and came up with a list of planning priorities, Culp said. They include:
• More emphasis on defining the character of business areas.
• More mixed-use development designations.
• Fewer zoning designations.
• More affordable housing options.
• Solutions to some of the town’s transportation challenges.
Planning commission member Julie Muyllaert said at a recent Winthrop Chamber of Commerce meeting that the comp plan is important for residents, business owners and visitors because “great communities don’t happen by accident … it’s a continuous process.”
The plan includes a look at the town’s evolving demographics because “we need to know who we are as a community,” Culp said at the same Chamber of Commerce meeting. Among the findings:
• The town’s population peaked at about 488 in 1970, dropped as low as 322 by 1990 and grew to 394 by 2010. Meanwhile, the population within the Methow Valley School District has grown steadily from 3,666 in 1990 to 5,230 in 2010.
• The median household income of $40,605 is about on par with Okanogan County but well below the national median of $49,445.
• There are about 300 housing units; 59 percent of the occupied homes are owner-occupied, 41 percent renter-occupied.
Among the most notable trends over the past several years, Culp said, is that smaller, pre-existing lots are selling well while large lots created for some planned developments in town are not.
Between 2000 and 2013, there were six applications for developments totaling 145 new lots, plus 16 short plats for 27 new lots, Culp said. Of those, 77 lots were finalized in the planning process. The Pine Near and Talon Ridge proposals are now dead; others have not been finalized. North Village was platted for 48 lots; seven homes have been constructed. Greenwood Estates was platted for 19 lots, and three homes have been constructed.
A series of neighborhood meetings will be scheduled where residents can review and make comments about the comp plan. There will be at least one public workshop as well, Culp said.
“We want to make it broadly available, and we hope to fine tune it,” she said.
The planning commission’s final document will then go to the council for more review and action.
Culp said the comp plan anticipates a “20-year planning horizon.”
One motivation behind the town’s proactive approach is what Culp called “fear of influence” — a polite way of saying that many town residents don’t trust the county to plan adequately to protect Winthrop’s best interests.
“We want to be actively involved with the county if something is planned” in adjacent areas that might impact the town, Culp said.
For more details about the plan, go to www.townofwinthrop.com, click on “planning” and scroll down to the bottom of the page to download documents.
