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Ferndale council approves special‑land‑use permit for chemical storage expansion at 1401 Farrell
Summary
After a public hearing and unanimous planning commission recommendation, council approved McDermott’s request to add two enclosed storage buildings at 1401 Farrell, limited to handling and storing hazardous chemicals and prohibiting manufacturing on site.
Ferndale City Council voted to approve a special land use for McDermott to expand its chemical storage site at 1401 Farrell following a public hearing and a unanimous recommendation from the planning commission.
The approved plan allows two additional enclosed buildings—one roughly 2,500 square feet and another roughly 10,000 square feet—on the parcel that currently serves as McDermott’s storage facility. City staff and the applicant said the site stores packaged chemical products in closed containers (plastic and metal drums, 5‑ to 275‑gallon sizes) that are manufactured at an adjacent facility and moved to the storage site for shipment.
Wayne Dutton, the project architect with the CIDOC Group, told council the facility stores chemicals only in enclosed packaging and that there will be no manufacturing, blending or on‑site processing in the storage buildings. Dean, the regional operations director for McDermott Enthone, described palletized drums and containers and said the company’s turnaround is roughly 30–90 days, with frequent regulatory inspections: “We are a highly regulated industry. So we get inspections monthly, sometimes multiple times,” he said.
Council members asked about local remediation and oversight. Staff noted a PFAS action plan had been carried out on the adjacent lagoon site at 1221 Farrell and that remediation was completed about five years ago; the site remains under surveillance from Eagle (environmental oversight), with inspections twice yearly, staff said.
The council motion approving the special land use attaches a condition that the permit is limited to handling and storing chemicals deemed hazardous by state or federal regulation; manufacturing, blending or refining hazardous chemicals on the site is expressly prohibited. Council also amended the ordinance citation in the motion to reflect the city’s updated zoning code (section 24‑10.04).
Planning commission members told council this was the commission’s third review and that it had unanimously recommended approval at its February meeting. The council vote recorded affirmative responses from members present and the motion carried.
The decision approves the site plan dated Oct. 18, 2024 and Jan. 2, 2025, and includes the standard recordation of the planning commission’s findings that the application satisfies review standards in the city zoning ordinance, subject to the manufacturing prohibition.
The council did not approve manufacturing or any operation that would open containers or process materials on the storage site; staff emphasized inspections and existing permits will govern ongoing oversight.
