HomeMy WebLinkAboutFoley letter WilkeRezone.MF+JGJefferson County Department of Community Development
2019 Comprehensive Plan and Amendment Docket
Staff Report and SEA Addendum
Re: Rezone of Wilke Property
240 Sand Road Port Townsend, WA 98368
Public Comment
September 16, 2019
Dear Board of Commissioners and Planning Committee,
We, Megan Foley and Jascha Gulden, residents at 501 Sand Road (parcel 001184042), urge the
county to reject Sarah and Andrew Wilke's application to amend the Jefferson County Comprehensive
Plan for their property at 240 Sand Road (parcel 001184004). Megan's family has owned and occupied
the property at 501 Sand Road for roughly 45 years. Our parcel is adjacent to the southern boundary of
the Wilke parcel. Please consider the following as you weigh the impact this would have on our
neighborhood:
If approved, the rezone would be a gross deviation from the Comprehensive Plan which is in
place to stop exactly this type of subdivision. It is surprising and disappointing that the application has
already made it this far along in the process. Approval would encourage further subdivisions by
establishing a precedent of small parcels. Quimper Valley is the watershed for Discovery Bay, and it
would struggle to support the additional wells and septics that would surely follow.
The Wilke application mentions several times that they are residents of Sand Road and therefor
don't wish to negatively impact the neighborhood. In fact, the Wilkes are not living on Sand Road, and
haven't for some time. They bought the property in the fall of 2017 and promptly moved out in 2018.
The main house is sitting empty while the ADU is being used as a vacation rental, which has already
impacted the neighborhood with additional car traffic, including a daily cleaning person and the many,
many renters most of whom aren't accustomed to driving slow on a privately maintained dirt road. We
must assume that because the Wilkes are not currently living on their land, there is a high likelihood
that they will at some point in the future sell one, or both parcels if divided. Uncertainty must be added
to any claim of “not planning to develop” the divided parcels, casting doubt on their expressed wish to
keep the rural integrity of the Sand Road/South Edwards neighborhood intact.
The Wilke's property includes a large pond and wetland that is part of the watershed running
down Quimper Valley which eventually ends in Discovery Bay. This fragile watershed runs through
many properties all of which have wetlands. We are directly downhill from the parcel in question and
have a large wetland on our property. The proposed subdivision would run directly through their
wetland, making it impractical to build on the majority of their property. During a wet year (e.g. 2017),
the Wilkes wetland is several acres, and blocks access to a large section of their property. Shortly after
the Wilkes moved in, they decided to dig a drainage ditch connecting their wetland to ours, so we have
direct experience with what happens to our wetland (and others down slope) when changes are made to
the topology of their wetland. Our field was flooded for months. We would be adversely affected by
any filling, draining, or other needed earthwork to complete any additions or buildings they (or future
owners) would desire to do. Not to mention all the neighbors downstream from us that were also
flooded that year.
It is also referenced in their application that there are 24 5-acre parcels within a half mile of the
Wilkes, making the argument that they aren't changing a precedent, but merely going with the flow. It
is stated that 80% are 5-acre parcels at maximum. We would point out, that the majority of those
parcels were subdivided before the 1992 revision to the Comprehensive Plan, and therefore cannot be
referenced as an example of acceptable parcel size. We would also point out that the map used in the
application includes parcels from the Cape George Highlands and Loftus Road, which may look
physically close to the Wilke's property on a map, but are in fact accessed via completely different
roads and are known higher density areas.
We again strongly encourage the Board of Commissioners and Planning Committee to reject
this application to subdivide, as it is not keeping with current regulations and goes against the wishes of
all adjoining property owners, as well as several other neighbors whom this would negatively impact.
Thank you for your consideration,
Megan Foley Jascha Gulden
501 Sand Road
Port Townsend, WA 98368