Ludlow awaits DOE decision; residents mad at PLA, county

By Barney Burke
The Port Townsend Leader Staff Writer

10/13/04

Port Ludlow, WA - Even if members had reached a quorum, the highlight of the Oct. 7 Port Ludlow Village Council meeting would not have been the introduction of newly elected directors.

The 50 or more residents in attendance were more interested in a recap of three different meetings held by the Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) on whether developer Port Ludlow Associates (PLA) can build townhouses over the lagoon in its Ludlow Bay Village project.

The

DOE meetings, all conducted in recent weeks, were: one with Jefferson County officials, one with residents who believe that PLA's plans don't comply with state shoreline regulations, and one with PLA.

In April 2004, Ludlow resident and developer Bert Loomis (elected to the Village Council last week) discovered that PLA's shoreline permit for the project expired in 1998. He and other residents contend that the townhomes cannot be built over the pond even though the county approved a plat 10 years ago that extends over the water.

A decision from DOE is expected any day now, according to all who met with the state agency. Earlier this year, a DOE official issued a letter saying the project cannot proceed as approved, as the plats extend over water.

Council member Bruce Schmitz, who participated in the residents' meeting with DOE, said the group had "no reason to believe they [DOE] would change that determination." However, Larry Nobles, also just elected to the council, added that DOE does not see itself as an enforcement agency.

County Administrator John Fischbach said he largely agreed with Schmitz's summary of DOE's position. But once DOE makes a determination, he stressed, "Then Jefferson County has to determine whether we'll follow that determination or not."

"The county finds itself in the middle of a dog fight," said County Commissioner Pat Rodgers. "The county simply wants to do what the law says," he explained.

PLA President and CEO Greg McCarry seemed just as optimistic about DOE as project opponents. He said that the "over water" issue is the county's issue to decide, according to DOE.

McCarry said that DOE suggested five ways to resolve the issue: file a new application, seek a declaratory judgment on the issue in court, fill in the portion of the pond underneath the lots, redesign the townhomes to not extend over the water, or try single-family homes instead.

McCarry said his company will look at the redesign options but feels that the county's original subdivision approval should stand. Nonetheless, he offered, PLA is willing to put "everything on the table" – including the number of units in the Ludlow Bay Village project – in order to move forward.

Earlier in the meeting, both Nobles and Schmidt had made a point to say that the community wants the developer to succeed and for the community to be left with a nice product for the future. Nobles complimented the Olympic Terrace project in particular.

McCarry rejected the olive branch, pointing out that residents have not only challenged the current project but have been saying that PLA has not met the 51 conditions imposed by the county years ago.

There was also disagreement about DOE's earlier determination. Rodgers said the earlier decision was based on a cursory field examination and sent only by e-mail. Resident Randy Shelley disputed that, saying that he had a copy of the formal letter on DOE stationery.

Shelley, a retired attorney who has researched the issue at some length, contended that PLA has in fact ignored county conditions, let its permits lapse, and now wants more density. Shelley asserted that the county has not responded to residents' claims that county officials have consistently turned a blind eye to inadequate setbacks on Heron Road and other alleged violations.

Fischbach said he hadn't seen the official DOE letter but said the county had in fact answered the setback issue, responding to resident and attorney Les Powers, who has been working closely with Shelley and Loomis.

According to Loomis, the trio has also been discussing the issue with Mickey Gendler, an attorney well-versed in Washington's Growth Management Act.

Afterward, Shelley and Fischbach had a fairly heated discussion on the issue.

In addition to Loomis and Nobles, also elected to the council were Dwayne Wilcox, Jim McCay, Ralph Stroy and Elizabeth VanZonneveld. Formed in 1999, the Village Council is an advisory group that has no regulatory power.

By a vote of 532 to 55, residents approved a bylaw change that deleted the two non-voting "commercial interest" seats on the council. One of those was held by McCarry, who had opposed the change. The other was held by real estate agent Mike Larkin, who endorsed the idea.

(Contact Barney Burke at bburke@ptleader.com.)