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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEXHIBIT_049Erqq' Kathleen Wald Coyle Hearing Date: Feb 25,2020 at 12:10:48 PM 'Q"&s'-a To: Kathleen kathleen.waldron@icl*ud.com B cc : kathhen.wa ld ron @icloud.com Hello. My name is Kathleen Waldron & I live at 50 Beach Drive on N/arrowstone Island. We met twice before, when we fought proposals for marijuana production & processing on RR land on Marrowstone lsland a couple years ago.Both proposals were denied based upon odor & noise.l\*,+ Since then, many of us have been trying to protect ALL rural residential county lands from industrial marijuana production & processing by changing the county code to allow them only in commercial & industrial zones, as is the case in most other surrounding counties. So when I heard that an established marijuana industry wanted to move f rom an industrial site to a rural residential site in Coyle, I was sickened!! This proposal is going the opposite direction of what we have been fighting for, & could be a "Game Changer" for our county! I am here to support our Coyle neighbors & to protect further attempts by the county to allow RR land for industrial use. These are my specific concerns. ln the proposal background summary on page 1 it reads: " The proposed cannabis production/processing facility is a relocation of an existing family owned and operated cannabis production facility cited in the Glen Cove lndustrial Area of East Jefferson County." r kathleen.waldro @icloud.com \J* And I heard the reason they are moving is because it is less expensive to be on a rural residential site. So if this proposal is approved, it will set a precedent that makes ALL rural residential sites very vulnerable. lf RR lands are not protected & they are cheaper than industrial sites, what is the motivation to stay at Glen Cove? And this proposal brings nothing to the county... in fact it takes away a quiet, natural property in a rural residential area. I also disagree with the justification on p. 16 under " The conditional use has merit & value for the community as a whole ". It does not "provide additional economic and employment opportunities for Jefferson County citizens". ln fact it's only moving employees f rom one part of the county to another and, in the process, taking away a rural residential site. So it is not adding anything to our county, but is threatening an existing rural lifestyle for its neighbors. And for this reason alone, I believe this proposal does not satisfy ALL CUP conditions & should be denied. There is also some disagreement in this proposal about whether marijuana growing is agricultural or industrial. On page 5 under "Out of character with the neighborhood and rural area", the county says ,, that "Cannabis grow and processing facilities are agricultural use under Jefferson County regulations. This facility is not industrial." Then on page 6, under 'Aquifer Contamination-Wastewater", the county says "No industrial waste water may be generated or discharged to the approved septic system." So is this Industrial or Agricultural? And does it belong on Rural Residential sites or in lndustrial zones? To protect Jefferson County from industry moving to cheaper RR lands, I ask you to protect our Coyle neighbors & future RR neighbors in Jefferson County. Thank you! Ev 7L{ Re: JEFFERSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT 62L Sheridan Street I Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-37 9-4450 | ema il : dcd@co.jefferson.wa. us http://www.co..iefferson. wa.us I 260 / Com mu nity-Development DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT STAFF REPORT TO THE JEFFERSON COUNTY HEARINGS EXAMINER Type Ill Conditional Use Permit (CUP) )PROPOSED FINDINGS CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS File No.:MLA r 8-000 1 02 - zoN r 8-00039 Tracy WilliamsonApplicant: SUMMARY APPLICATION AND RECOMMENDATION Date of Application: Jefferson County Department of Community Development (trcD) received the application on November 24,201E, and deemed it substantially complete on March 4,2019. Proposel: Conditional Unit Permit for a cottage industry to produce and process cannabis in a Rural Residential l:20 zoned 5.4E acre parcel under State License Number 416544. The project proposed 10,840 square feet, which includes two (2) 5,000 square foot buildings (100 x 50 feet) and one (l) 840 square foot (14 x 60 feet) maintenance building. 2,000 square feet will be used for processing cannabis and 8,000 square feet used for production. Background Summary:The cannabis is a relocation of of The required pre-application conference (PREl8-00029) was held on Novem 2018 (Exhibit l). This application was for a Type II Discretionary Conditional Use Permit; however, on April 30, 2019, the Unified Development Code (UDC) Administrator determined this application shall be processed as a Type III Conditional Use Permit under JCC 18.40.530(2) with a public hearing and decision by the Jefferson County Hearing Examiner. Legal Description and Project l.ocation: Parcel number 601-105-013 in Section 10, Township 26N, Range lW, WM, Woodway Large Lot Subdivision Lot 3, located al9790 Coyle Road, Quilcene, WA 9E376 Recommendation: Approval with conditions Mr-A r 8-00 l 0zzoN I 8-00039 Wi ll iamson Cannabis Production >& Page I of 19 ) ) ) ) ) * The applicant is proposing and committed to using only organic or environmentally friendly products that are not hazardous or that would produce dangerous waste that could contaminate the environment, and comply with the listed products issued by the State LCCB. The proposal meets this criterion. The proposed conditional use will implement l-502, a citizen-approved ballot measure which passed by 65% of the citizens of Jefferson County', and additional @whileProducing ng product that is in demand in County and the State of Washington. The proposal also has merit and value for the community by supporting the Comprehensive Plan Goals and Policies (see below) that the citizens of Jefferson County have adopted as their own. The proposal meets this criterion. (k) The conditional use is consistent with all relevant eoals and policies of the Jefferson County Comprehensive Plan: and The proposal is subject to all applicable sections of the Jefferson County Comprehensive PIan. The following Comp PIan goals and policies are applicable to the subject application for a cottage industry conditional use permit: Framework Goal I Preserving Rural Character "Conserve Jefferson County's functioning rural way of life, agricultural and forest working lands, shoreline and mountain vistas, and natural ecosystems, not just to be preserved to provide scenery, but to be preserved as a living working and sustaining rural landscape with which the community has a living/working relationship." Rural Character is not exclusively about residential use and development. It is about preserving a way of life where people have a right to "work" and use the land to provide a living for themselves and their families. This is exactly what the applicant is doing. Framework Goal III Enhancement of the Rural Economy "Grow a robust economy with living wage jobs based on resource lands, manufacturing, tourist and recreation-oriented services, and evolving technologies that allows our communities to thrive; through a concept of a sustainable rural economy -benefiting the county's clean environment, and benefiting from the county's clean environment." lt is critically important that piopertj owners be encouraged and allowed to create jobs to grow and support a rural economy as long as they are compatible with sustaining a clean environment and don't conflict with other allowed uses. Goal LU-G-27 Foster home-based businesses or cottage industries in order to provide economic and employment opportunities outside of Rural Commercial zones. Policy LU-P-27.3. Cottage industries are an accessory use to the primary residential use and shall be operated by the owner or lessee of the property, who shall reside either within a single-family dwelling or an accessory dwelling unit, subject to conditional use permit review procedures. (l) The public interest suffers no substantial detrimental effect. Consideration shall be given to the cumulative effect of similar actions in the area. MLAI 8-00 l0zzoN r 8{0039 Williamson Cannabis Prodrction Page 16 of I ACKNOWLEDGETIE}IT By signing the application form, the applicanUowner attests that the informalion provided herein is- 1ru9. and coqgct to the best of ni'sner kn-owledg'i. Any material falsehood or any omission of a material fact made by the applicanUowner with respec{ to this application packet may result in this permit being null and void. (AppucArr oR AUTHoRzED REPRESENTATve serurune)(oare) 7 Wllthe proposed conditional use result in the siting of aq il 8.Are there any significant adverse impacts on the human and natural environments caused directly by the conditional use? lf yes, can these impacts be mitigated? 9.Describe how granting the conditional use will not be materially detrimental to uses or property in the vicinity of the subject 10.to theuse will not be interest.how the as a whole?and value for theDoes the conditional use11. 12.Describe how the conditional use complies wtth all olher applicable criteria and standards of the Jefierson County Code (JCC) and any other applicable locat, state or federal law; and more specifically, conforms to the standards contained in JCC 18.20 13.Describe hor the conditional use is consistent with all relevant goals and policies of the Jefierson Countv Comprehensive Plan. INOTE: Representative authorization is required if application is not signed by the Owner.l Page 4 oarcel- Marijuana on Real Estate) are consistent with the conclusion that property values have not sigrificantly decreased, and actually increased in some cases in relation to the cannabis industry. Violation of Code Illegal under federal law The County's conditional use approval criteria does not require compliance with federal laws. In December 2018, JCC I E.40.530(g) was amended removing compliance with federal laws. Violation of SuMivision Covenants The project is not allowed under the suMivision covenants The County does not enforce suMivision or homeowners' association's covenants, conditions & restrictions (CC&Rs). The applicant addresses the covenants on page l3 of Exhibit 14. Increased Crime The project will attract thieves to the site and cause property crime Similar to concerns on property value above, the research cited on that issue also indicates no definitive correlation between legalized cannabis and increase in property crime. No statistics or data was available from the Jefferson County SherifPs office. Comments relating to the increased crime are generalized and unsupported by any specific data or findings and therefore this should not be considered in the analysis of the application unless articulable concerns are probably raised Noise The project will create nuisance noise from the fans in the buildings The County's conditional use approval criteria require that the pmject will not introduce norse. smoke. dust, fumes. vibrations, odors. or other conditions or v'hich unreasonublt' impacts existing rces in the viciniq'tf'the subiect parcel. A further discussion of compliance with this criterion may be found below in staff findings. The applican!'s noise study is Exhibit 19. Odor The project will produce odors The County's conditional use approval criteria require that the project will not introduce noise, smoke. dust. fumes. vibrations, odors, or other conditions or v'hich unreasonably impacts exisling uses in the vicinity of'the subiect parcel. A further discussion of compliance with this criterion may be found below in stafffindings. The applicant's odor mitigation and plan is Exhibit 15. Out of character with the neighborhood and rural area The project is an industrial development and does not fit in with the rural character of the neighborhood proposal includes an interior screened cleared area of approximately 30,000 sr11gre facilities areCannabisand an 5 of l9 v MLA I 8-00 l0ZZoN I E40039 Williamson Cannabis Production use feet, or less than one acre. This scale of development is consistent with and even less than other parcels in the vicinity (see page 9 for a more detailed analysis) The scale of the buildings is consistent with rural and agricultural structures. also known as barns. The site will be screened from the road and adiacent properties. Traffic The project will lead to more traffic on Coyle road Cottage lndustry standards limits this use to four employees on-site who reside offthe property. No on-site sales will occur and no retail customers will be coming to the site. In consultation with the Public Works Department, the expected level of traflic to the site would not generate significant traffic in excess of that normally generated in the area. l.ight Pollution The grow lights will cause pollution Light pollution will not occur since the buildings are steel and will not allow light to escape. Exterior lighting will be pointed down in compliance with JCC 1E.30.140 Aquifer Contamination - Wastewater - The aquifer will be contaminated with fertilizer and other chemicals used in production and processing The applicant's proposed water conservation measures will ensure minimum wastewater (Exhibit l4 page 6) and the applicant has commined to using only domestic strength, environmentally friendly cleaners approved under the Denver Best Management hactices for Wastewater. The applicant has commined to using no hazardous chemicals or solvents. No wastewater may be or (Exhibit 23). Forest Practices The project needs a permit from DNR to convert to another use from forestry The amount of clearing for the project and residence does not exceed the 2-acre minimum threshold required for a Forest Practice harvest/convenion permit. Radio Frequency Radiation The project will emit Radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (EMR) that will interfere with HAM radio operations. The lighting ballasts that generate EMR will be inside a steel building that will prevent the release of EMR to the surrounding area. The County does not regulate EMR. H REVIEW CRITERIA State and Locel Approvals and Permits Required:. Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Control Board License Number 416544 . Jefferson County Department of Community Development Type lll Conditional Use Permit MLA l8-00I0?IZ.oN I t-00039 Williamson Cannabis hoduction 6of