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Planning director: major plan modifications, RV conversions at Veranda/Bridal Beach, fees may need update
Summary
Planning director Pete Palmer told commissioners the county expects several major plan‑development modifications, including a conversion of home sites to roughly 200 RV spaces at Veranda/Bridal Beach; staff warned the county’s current fees likely understate the true cost of major modifications and recommended a fee study.
Planning Director Pete Palmer updated the commissioners on land‑use activity and a wave of incoming plan‑development modifications.
Palmer said the department is preparing to process another large plan‑development modification at Bridal/Bridal Beach (referred to as Veranda/Bridal Beach in the meeting). One application will likely be a major modification that would convert roughly a little over 200 home sites into RV spaces; that proposal will require a new development agreement, subdivision work and engineered infrastructure and will be far larger than a standard minor modification.
Palmer told commissioners that the department had been relying on outside consultants (Van Estelle, referenced) for assistance and that fees historically charged for minor modifications — roughly $3,000, staff estimated, for a minor modification — do not cover the department’s costs for major modifications that require legal review, SEPA review, hearings examiner time and surveying. He recommended staff return with an updated fee schedule or supplemental fees for major plan modifications to capture the actual cost of review and public hearing processes.
The planning director also said the county is seeking updated critical‑areas mapping and working on several projects on Lake Osooz (south of Veranda Beach and lower side of Veranda Beach) and several other plan developments (Copperstone and others). He told the board that some plan modifications will convert accommodation types and that the county needs to examine hook‑up and ERU (equivalent residential unit) impacts as well as open‑space shortfalls in existing developments.
Why it matters: Major modifications to plan developments can require significant staff time, legal review and engineering resources; if fees do not cover review costs, taxpayers or other departments may absorb those costs. Large conversions from home sites to RV spaces also raise infrastructure, sewer/water hookup and long‑term housing questions.
Next steps: Planning staff will return with recommended fee adjustments for minor vs. major plan modifications and cost estimates for legal/hearings/expert review. Commissioners asked staff to return with clearer fee recommendations and to coordinate any fee changes with county finance.
