HomeMy WebLinkAbout054HOOD
February 25,2OL8
Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners
Jefferson County Court House
P.O. Box 1220
Port Townsend, Washington 98358
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Re: Public Comment Period - Draft Development Agreement and Draft Development
Regulations for Proposed Pleasant Harbor Master Planned Resort (MPR)
Attn: Commissioners Kathleen Kler, David Sullivan and Kate Dean:
At the February 7,20L8 meeting of the Jefferson County Planning Commission (PC), the
county's Director of the Department of Community Development, Patty Charnas, announced
start and end dates for a 60 day period for public comments on the above-named documents.
Ms. Charnas also stated that this comment period might be extended by the Board of County
Commissioners (BOCC) beyond the April9, 2018 deadline. The Hood Canal Environmental
Council (HCEC) firmly believes that there are several good reasons to extend the public
comment period.
At the PC meeting on February 21,20L8, Commission members voted to continue their
involvement in the decision-making process by resuming their review of the drafts, and
spending as much time as they deem necessary to adequately address a number of unresolved
and controversial issues surrounding the proposed MPR. Some of the issues discussed by the
PC members were procedural in nature. Chief among these issues is the timing of the adoption
of the development regulations and approval of the development agreement. Another issue of
concern involves the 25 year buildout period.
Controversial issues concerning the proposed MPR are not limited to process, but include a
number of environnlental and economic concerns as well. These include the still undecided
plan on how to treat the kettles, assigning responsibility for water quality monitoring and
enforcement, determining whether the economic analyses need to be revisited, and
acknowledging how the project might impact traffic on Highway 101. These and other concerns
are shared by the HCEC, the Brinnon Group and other organlzations and individuals throughout
the Hood Canal area and beyond.
Jefferson County's decision regarding the draft documents is critically important for a project
that, if constructed, will dramatically change the rural character of the Brinnon area and the
broader Hood Canal watershed. lt is in the best interest of Jefferson County and the public to
make sure that the draft documents do not disproportionately benefit the proposed MPR
project developer.
For the above-stated reasons, the HCEC requests an extension of the public comment period to
allow Jefferson County's Planning Commission ample time to review and deliberate the issues
raised by language in the Draft Development Agreement and Draft Regulations for the
proposed Master Planned Resort and to provide its conclusions and recommendatlols to the
Board of county Commissioners. :ftr-
Thank you for your attention to this matter. The HCEC would appreciate a response to this
letter.
Sincerely,
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Donna M. Simmons, President
Hood Canal Environmental Council
Cc Patty Charnas /
Nicole Allen
Planning Commission
Phillip Hunsucker