Planning director reports state pause on channel-mapping work, $150,000 Commerce offer and LCB license fees

Pete Palmer, the county planning director, told the Okanogan County Board of Commissioners that a joint mapping project with the Department of Ecology has been “paused” because of uncertainty tied to recent legislation and federal funding, and that the county should expect notice when the work resumes.

Palmer said the Department of Commerce separately offered a funding package of about $150,000 to support the county’s periodic planning update required under Washington’s Growth Management Act. "They reached back to me because their practice is to work with the counties or the commissioners directly for things like this," Palmer said. He asked the board whether the county wants Commerce to run an informational session for local officials and the planning commission and recommended hosting the session in the evening or as a special meeting so commissioners and planning commissioners could attend.

Why it matters: The Commerce offer would help the county complete required periodic updates — shoreline master program updates and critical areas reviews were cited — and could finance consultant help that small, rural counties say can be difficult to procure.

Palmer also briefed commissioners on state licensing for processors under the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB). He said annual LCB renewal currently costs about $1,381 per license, and that a property can host multiple processor licenses while the underlying landowner remains ultimately responsible for compliance. He compared Okanogan County’s $500 annual registration with tiered fees in Chelan County (examples given in the conversation: tier 1 $1,550; tier 2 $3,100; tier 3 $5,560). "At the end of the day, ultimately, the property owner is responsible for what's on his property," Palmer said.

Palmer asked the board to select who will attend a meeting the LCB requested Friday the 18th and to gather the county's prior objection responses; he said the LCB has sometimes replied that it does not handle county zoning concerns. The planner urged commissioners to press the LCB to provide verifiable addresses for licenses so the county can check whether state licensing complies with setback rules around schools, churches and other sensitive uses.

Ending: Palmer asked commissioners whether they wanted the Commerce overview scheduled on a regular agenda or as a separate evening session; he recommended the county collect its prior objection letters in advance of the LCB meeting so staff can press for address verification and clearer coordination between state licensing and local zoning.