In the latest development to the City of White Salmon’s process of updating its comprehensive plan, city planning commissioners met to discuss proposed revisions to the land use designation map, and a proposed amendment to the city’s zoning code, which would insert new definitions and redefine certain zoning terminology within city boundaries.
No recommendation was made at the April 28 meeting; instead, the discussions on both the agenda items will continue into the next meeting, scheduled for May 12.
Planning commissioners, through their process of preparing the draft comprehensive plan, identified proposed alterations to land use designations, as follows: Low-Density Residential Districts would replace Large-Lot Residential (LLR) and Single-Family Residential zones (R1); Medium-Density Residential Districts would replace Two-Family Residential zones (R2); High-Density Residential/Mixed-Use Residential Districts (HDR/MU) would replace Multi-Family Residential zone designations.
The proposed reclassification of land use designations comes out of a city-led effort to broaden the scope and simplify designations for “current council and future councils to be able to adjust the zoning that they choose to assign to those areas with more flexibility and intention than when the (land use designation) map was tied to specific zoning assignments,” Mayor Marla Keether wrote in an email exchange.
Keethler said a re-evaluation of the RL, R1, R2, R3, and commercial zones and “how to better align those with the new goals and policies in the new plan” will be initiated following adoption of the land use designation map by city council.
Through city staff review of the proposed land use designations within the draft comprehensive plan, they have identified proposed changes to the land use designation map in keeping with goals and policies listed within the draft comprehensive plan, said Keethler.
Proposed revisions to the land use designation map include redesignating 64 acres of single-family (R1) housing to medium density housing within the White Salmon co-housing area, the land annexed in 2019, the area west of Hunsaker Oil and Innovative Composite Engineering, as well as land within the urban exempt area and north of the 2019 annexed land. Maps of the changes can be found on the city website, within the agenda packet for the April 28 Planning Commission meeting.
Shelley Baxter, a resident within the city’s newly annexed area, questioned if rezoning lots to allow for higher density residencies would move the city towards its goal of providing attainable housing during public comment. Baxter also questioned why the changes would allow for an increase of 64 acres of medium-density residential, when the city’s 2019 urbanization calls for an increase of only 12.9 acres.
In the email exchange, Keethler clarified the intent behind proposing a redesignation of the 64 acres, saying the study’s analysis is “assuming 100 percent utilization of land.”
“We can see, both in how the city has built up and in trends regarding single-family residence construction permits in current R2 areas, that 100 percent of the land identified for a certain type of housing is not necessarily developed with only that type of housing,” Keethler said. “Accounting for a larger area to be identified as able to support medium density housing is acknowledging that in order to actually realize 13 acres developed as middle housing stock, we have to account for a larger footprint of that type of land use.”
The proposal also would redesignate six lots on NE Snohomish Avenue from commercial zones to high-density/mixed-use zones. According to the agenda memo, five of the six lots are single-family dwellings “and are not likely to be used for commercial purposes.” The other lot, which is vacant, was once owned by Skyline Hospital but had been sold, a fact that was missed during the 2012 comprehensive plan update, said the agenda memo.
Staff also identified the Riverfront land use designations for further review; the current designation calls for secondary roads connecting SR-14 and “master-planned developments that can include recreational, commercial, light industrial and limited residential uses,” and according to the staff report, the majority of the district has been built out with no master-planned development or secondary roads.
“It is staff’s belief that either the description of the Riverfront designation should be changed or these properties should be identified as Commercial. The Commercial designation allows all current uses to continue. New light industrial uses would require a conditional use permit (under the city’s existing zoning requirements),” read the staff report.
Commissioners postponed discussion of the proposed changes to the land use designation map to the next meeting. Before the discussion on the land use designations, commissioners held a lengthy discussion on proposed amendments to the city zone code.
The amendments adjust definitions, according to the staff report, based on discussions occurring over last year’s debate on the mobile home zone code changes, where it was determined that “some of the definitions needed clarification and that several other new definitions are being recommended.”
Some amendments fix typological errors, while others sparked debate among commissioners on whether the amendments alter the function of the definitions. Other amendments add definitions for motels, tourist facilities, tiny houses, short-term rentals, places of public assembly, and “commercial recreation.”
Contested items include the definitions of hotels, motels, and apartment buildings.
Planning commissioners will be revisiting the conversation at the next commission meeting as no recommendation was made last week.
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