The Chelan County Planning Commission hearing on the Manson Sub Area Plan did not adjourn until 11:00 p.m. last night. There was a bunch of new public input to the process and the vacation rental issue continues to be a hot topic with the public.
Going right to the punch line, the Planning Commission adopted the proposal with changes. The changes included 6 recommendations from planning staff, a modification of the building heights in the commercial areas to keep them at a 50 foot height limit and a change in the proposed vacation rental language to permit vacation rentals with conditions.
Previously, the vacation rentals were proposed to require a Conditional Use Permit. Vacation Rental Operators, property owners and the Chamber of Commerce were concerned about the expense of the CUP process. Residents that wanted better control of vacation rentals like the additional teeth in enforcement that the CUP process is thought to provide. The Willow Point neighborhood, with property owners rightfully concerned about vacation rentals, in Manson has been particularly hard hit with vacation rental issues with vacation rental properties now about one in four homes in the neighborhood.
The adopted planning staff recommendations include:
- A parcel designated UR1 (Urban Residential 1) which had been UR2 was amended back to UR2.
- A property on the northern boundary of the Urban Growth Area, UGA, was removed from the UGA as requested previously by the property owner.
- A property that was zoned Manson Light Industrial in error was amended to UR1.
- A property on the northwest side of the UGA that the owners requested to be included in the UGA was not amended to be included.
- Requests to move the UGA back to Wapato Lake Road for its eastern boundary were denied.
- A condition for vacation rentals criteria that was included is: “Trash cans, on the right-of-way, should be removed within 24 hours of pickup.”
Kim Ustanik presented amendments to commercial and industrial zoning along with a letter in support of those changes with over 40 signatures from Manson business and property owners. The changes requested were to continue to allow a 50′ height limit in a revised area for commercial tourist zoning and to allow land for commercial tourist and light industrial uses. There were also amendments to the use charts in the zoning code proposed. Apparently Kim and another person or two were able to get those signatures in just a couple of hours! Disclosure: I signed that letter and support the suggested amendments to the Sub Area Plan.
Other topics that were discussed included a request to change the Hyacinth Road minimum lot size to 16,000 square feet and changes to industrial/commercial zoning. Those requests were not adopted. There were comments from planning commission members that the community does not seem very unified in its proposed zoning rules. I particularly liked one comment from a planning commission member. He said that the proposed zoning, which has no available land for light industrial or tourist commercial zones, is basically saying “Manson is closed for business.”
It was a meeting that was an emotional roller-coaster for attendees who had issues they were hoping to have addressed. A significant amount of the meeting was deliberation of the planning commission. They were conflicted in just how to handle the plan, whether to recommend denial or adoption with changes. And still, the Sub Area Plan isn’t finalized yet. Next it goes to the County Commissioners for a public workshop and then a hearing. I hope the council will put much of the new information on their agenda and get further input before the County Commission’s workshop and hearing on the matter in December.
