Developers Question Plat Approval Process

WAITSBURG – Warren Land Company owners Gene and Mary Warren, developers of the proposed Whoopemup Meadows subdivision, say they are confused by the process Waitsburg's planning commission has taken in deciding to approve or disapprove their preliminary plat proposal to Waitsburg's city council.

"Their own ordinances say they can approve, disapprove or approve with conditions. Instead, I guess they're disapproving, but it's really not a disapproval," said Gene Warren. The developers are hopeful that the city council – the next stop on the preliminary plat's agenda – will provide clarification.

On Jan. 25 the Waitsburg Planning Commission voted to recommend that Waitsburg's city council disapprove the Whoopemup Meadows preliminary plat application. That decision was initiated by planning commission member K.C. Kuykendall, who also sits on the city council.

Kuykendall told the commission that the disapproval was necessary to meet a 14-day recommendation deadline. However, he said that, during a Jan. 21 executive session, the city council stated its intent to reject the planning commission's disapproval. Kuykendall said the council would instead request that the commission gather further information before reaching a decision, which would benefit all parties involved.

The Warrens confirmed that they received a letter from the City of Waitsburg stating that the planning commission was recommending that the preliminary plat be disapproved due to a "lack of vital information."

Waitsburg City Clerk Randy Hinchliffe said the commission requested four specific additional items: a traffic impact study pertaining to Taggart Road, a storm water analysis, possibilities for cost-sharing of a buffer between the development and the Port of Walla Walla's neighboring industrial park, and consideration of a pedestrian easement to Garden Street.

"This is all a case of putting the cart way in front of the horse," said Mary Warren who noted that the city still hasn't answered the question of who owns the utility lines leading up to the development – the City of Waitsburg or the Port of Walla Walla. "We're not going to do more when we still don't know the answer to the big questions of who owns the water lines," she said. "It may take a court action to determine that," she added.

Hinchliffe said that he, along with Mayor Walt Gobel and an additional council member are scheduled to meet with Port representatives next week in an attempt to negotiate that issue. He noted that the developers could still access utilities, even if it was determined that the lines belong to the Port, but that they would have to access the lines at Garden Street, which would be a much longer distance and at greater expense.

The Warrens also expressed concern that so much information is being requested, at potentially significant expense, during such an early stage in the process. The developers said they included all the information requested in the preliminary plat application and even provided additional colored plans requested at the first, informal public hearing.

"These are conditions typical of a final plat. The key word here is 'preliminary,' this is conceptual," said Mary Warren.

"We're way out of the scope of where we thought we would be here," added Gene Warren.

Hinchliffe said that while the preliminary plat application only requires certain information, there is nothing that prevents the planning commission from asking for more before making a recommendation. "The commission's job is to make sure that city codes are met and that the public use and interest will be served," he said.

The recommendation to disapprove the preliminary plat will go, before Waitsburg's city council on, Feb. 12. (That date is a change from the regularly scheduled third-Wednesday monthly meeting.) Hinchliffe said he expects that the council will send the recommendation back to the planning commission for more information and that the council will readdress the matter at a future meeting once that requested information is received.

The developers say they are forced to try and determine if the expense of providing the requested information, when the city can still deny the application, is a financial risk they're willing to take.

"The flip side of this is that we have 10 5-acre lots that we can develop and that don't need city water/sewer/garbage or any of that. We do have that option, but is that what they really want?" asked Gene Warren. "Columbia Pulp is going to be breaking ground and four out of six of Waitsburg's city council members said that economic advancement is a priority in their bios on the city website. We're just hoping the mayor and the council can step in here and provide some strong leadership," he added.