Klickitat County is delaying the scheduling of a public hearing to consider a conditional use permit application submitted by Under Canvas to develop 27 acres of forestry land into a luxury camping site. County staff cited two separate appeals submitted against a revised SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) checklist that was approved in a Mitigated Determination of Non-Significance (MDNS) which was awarded to the developers by the Klickitat County Planning Department earlier this month.
Associate Planner Lori Anderson said the process is on hold until county staff receive direction from the Board of County Commissioners. The topic is being discussed at this week’s BoCC meeting.
Steve Morrow, a resident near the proposed project site, submitted an appeal, arguing the traffic volume estimate provided by the developers is “insufficient with respect to sample size, context, completeness to support public safety decisions.” Morrow also cited an “executable evacuation plan… (that) has not been analyzed or developed.”
Also appealing the approved SEPA Checklist is the Klickitat Land Preservation Fund, Friends of Oak Ridge, and Dennis and Bonnie White.
Environmental review is required by the state of Washington for certain government actions, defined in the state’s administrative codes. A project is awarded a MDNS when the reviewing agency determines that a proposal will not have a probable significant impact on the environment.
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