The Twisp Planning Commission has sent its final recommendation of conditions for preliminary approval of the proposed Orchard Hills planned development to the Town Council — with a firm statement about the key issue of access to the site.
In its final deliberations last week, the Planning Commission eliminated some wording from the staff report on Orchard Hills that would have allowed the development to proceed without a provision for additional access to the property. The neighborhood is currently accessible only from May Street off of Second Avenue.
As adopted, the commission’s recommendation is unequivocal: provision for another ingress-egress route must be part of the development’s plan before it can be considered for final approval.
That said, the Town Council will have final say over final approval, and can modify the commission’s recommendations as it chooses.
And, the progress of the preliminary approval process is still subject to adoption of a “mitigated finding of non-significance” related to possible environmental impacts, which would extend the process further.
It was unclear how the commission’s recommendations might affect the viability of the project, which as proposed calls for the construction of 52 units on approximately 17 acres on the bluff west of downtown Twisp. The proposal was submitted by Palm Investments North (owned by Jerry and Julie Palm). Orchard Hills was first submitted to the town in May 2022 and has undergone several revisions, and the Palms have agreed to additional studies of potential traffic impacts and access challenges.
Firm requirements
At last week’s meeting, Planning Commission Chairman John Battle referred to the commission’s most-recent deliberations over the preliminary approval, during which “we did not leave any other option than building the second access road.” The option of requiring sprinklers in all the residences as an alternative to a second access was eliminated, Battle said.
As now worded and if endorsed by the council, the preliminary approval requirements would prohibit any construction or sale of lots until a second access road is completed, Town Planner Kurt Danison said.
One of the listed requirements in the preliminary approval document is that “the proposed second access from the proposed development be built to International Fire Code standards for an emergency fire apparatus access and signed as such prior to final approval.”
The commission’s recommendations also would eliminate townhouses from the plan and require at least 30 feet of separation between buildings. Open space would cover “at least” 40% of the development, per the commission’s recommendations.
Danison said the recommendations will be forwarded to the council for consideration, and that no further public testimony will be taken. But the council can’t act until the current mitigated determination of non-significance is publicized, which will be followed by a 14-day appeal period. If there is another appeal, the council will hold a public hearing and consider whether to adopt or modify the determination. There can be no decision about the overall preliminary approval document until the environmental impact issue is resolved, Danison said.
Battle said the commission had listened to and considered the dozens of written and oral comments about the proposed development. After the commission’s action, he said “I hope this moves it forward.”
