Will focus on 2017 court-ordered changes
Facing a looming deadline to revise the county’s zoning code, the Okanogan County commissioners have decided to focus on changes required by a 2017 court stipulation so they can devote more time to a thorough review of zones and land uses throughout the county.
The county commissioners and Planning Director Pete Palmer have been going over changes to the zoning code suggested by a consultant to fulfill the court agreement with an end-of-June deadline. The settlement was reached in lawsuits brought by Methow Valley Citizens Council, Futurewise and the Yakama Nation over water quality and quantity, preserving agricultural lands, and protecting against wildfire risk.
In recent weeks, they commissioners have been reviewing the district use chart, which lists uses in 20 zones throughout the county and the activities in each one that are permitted, prohibited or that need a special permit.
The list includes uses from banks to cellular communication towers to orchards to helipads. But some distinctions could be clearer. In their discussion on May 8, the commissioners scrutinized differences between “auto salvage” and “aircraft salvage.”
The zoning review warrants more discussion than just the district use chart, and it requires community involvement, not just the three commissioners, County Commissioner Andy Hover said.
The county has received considerable input on the zoning code that’s important to take into account, County Commissioner Chris Branch said. Among their goals is reviewing zones throughout the county so that they reflect the needs and goals of residents and businesses and that uses are compatible. Hover wants clearer definitions of agricultural activities to ensure that they’re compatible with residential development.
The importance of preserving the rural character of Okanogan County comes up often, but Branch observed that that isn’t well defined. “I always bring this up — I joke about it a lot. We want to maintain the rural character of Okanogan County, and I guess I always come back to, ‘What is the rural character of Okanogan County?’” he said.
“I’m going to put a sign on my pick-up and I’m going to put ‘rural character’ on that, and that’s me — I’m in there, and I’m the ‘rural character’ of the county,” Branch said.
Classified by density, use
The zoning code contains regulations based on concepts in the county’s comprehensive plan, which is the philosophical underpinning for land use and growth. The code implements the comp plan and promotes the public health, safety and welfare of the county’s inhabitants.
Some zones that contain many residential parcels are defined by density, such as Rural 1, Rural 5 and Rural 20 (named for the minimum lot size of 1, 5 or 20 acres). Others specifically reference residential uses, such as Low Density Residential and Rural Residential, and still others are based on commercial or industrial uses. Then there’s the Methow Review District, which tends to place more restrictions on uses than other areas in the county.
Hover and Palmer want to be able to amend the zoning code to satisfy the court order and then have time for an in-depth review. They aim to study a countywide map to create clear definitions of zones and of the hundreds of potential uses so they can incorporate what the community wants.
Finalizing the zoning update by the end of June was a difficult timeline even before they began considering the ramifications of all the different uses and zones, Hover said.
Once the commissioners complete their review of the sections of the code covered by the court agreement, a draft of the changes will be circulated for public review.
By focusing now only on the elements addressed by the stipulation, the county can later do a real zoning code update that involves the public, Palmer said.
Taking a methodical approach would allow the commissioners to be thoughtful about planning so they can avoid repeating mistakes from the past, Hover said.
