BY PEPPER FISHER
Sequim – The Sequim City Council on Monday approved putting an immediate moratorium on applications for Master-Planned Overlays while city staff continue their work on updating the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
A Master Planned Overlay is the type of application submitted by developers of the planned 650-unit Westbay project at John Wayne Marina. That application was returned by the City as “Technically Incomplete” and included a long list of needed revisions and additional information.
Staff expect that the moratorium will only be necessary while they prepare the 2025 Comprehensive Plan update, which is scheduled for completion in June of next year. But the Westbay developers are not happy about the possibility of having to wait a year to resume their efforts, and say they were caught off guard with the new moratorium.
Seabrook’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Gundersen told KONP on Tuesday that the company’s land use attorney has been engaged in discussions with the City’s outside counsel and the Wayne family’s land use attorney. Here’s Gundersen speaking directly to the council Monday night.
“So, Seabrook was both surprised and deeply disappointed by the City of Sequim’s proposed emergency moratorium on the Master Planned Overlay applications which had come after, you know, over 12 months of collaborative work in good faith with both the city staff and leadership. Seabrook has invested over a million dollars on this project. Until we learned of the city’s intent to impose the moratorium, we were unaware of any City concerns with respect to its comp plan and development regulations that would warrant such such an action. In our view, the city’s determination that a moratorium is needed at this point in the West Bay review process also sends an unfortunate message to those looking to invest in Sequim’s future.”
Gundersen said they have been working diligently on their permit application to address the City’s concerns, and said the company remains committed to the project.
Company owner Casey Roloff also spoke to the council and gave his pitch about the contributions he believes the Westbay community will make to our area. He said the company will be setting up a community foundation that will take a portion of every home sale, raising up to $400,000 for attainable housing and scholarships. Here’s Roloff.
“We don’t want to come in here and do our own thing. We want to fit in. We want to be a great neighbor. That’s something that has been one of our values wherever we go. Also, if you don’t know much about us, we specialize in building walkable communities. We want our neighbors to get to know each other. And we also want to be a place where it’s inclusive, where everybody feels like they can walk into West Bay, park their car, have a picnic on one of our picnic tables. They don’t have to spend any money. So, while it is a place that isn’t an inexpensive place, it is a place where everybody feels welcome.”
The moratorium is proposed for six months, after which time staff will re-evaluate the continued need for a moratorium.
Because it’s an emergency moratorium, it went into effect immediately upon approval.
A public hearing is required within 60 days of the passing of the moratorium. Staff are expected to announce a date for the public hearing soon.