Roche Harbor representatives briefed the San Juan County Planning Commission on July 18 about a request to expand the Roche Harbor Master Plan Resort boundary by about 119 acres to replace developable land lost to recently identified wetlands. Matthew Allen, general manager at Roche Harbor, said the expansion "does not increase the number of dwellings as are allowed in the current boundaries." He said the resort hopes to use the additional area to plan year-round rental housing for staff and other island residents.

Why it matters: The master plan, adopted in the 1990s, allocated a fixed number of dwelling units in the resort area. Roche Harbor’s request would reallocate potential development area within the existing unit cap rather than increase the cap; the resort says the change is necessary because wetland delineations discovered during pre-application work make some previously assumed developable uplands unsuitable.

County staff and the resort’s consultant, Colin Cooper, said the proposal would preserve the master plan’s overall unit count (the staff report referenced an existing allocation of approximately 180 units in the eastern district) while enabling development to avoid wetlands and retain required open-space and buffering standards. Cooper recommended a set of conditions, including maintaining at least 40% of resort lands as open space, formalizing continued public access to an existing trail network and retaining a 100-foot forested buffer along Roche Harbor Road and Raulieu Road. The master-plan process requires any development larger than 4,000 square feet or any new planned-unit development to go through an application-level PUD review, which will include environmental review and public notice.

During public access, Roche Harbor said it is pursuing covenants to reserve long-term accessibility for half of developed units and hopes to make some rental housing available by 2028 following the PUD review and permitting process. Commissioners asked about affordable housing options and water-supply sufficiency; representatives said the resort has discussed providing manufactured rental units for employees and residents and is continuing pre-application coordination with county staff. Staff will return next month with further recommendations and expects to ask the commission to set a public hearing for September, with council consideration possible in the fall. No formal map amendments were adopted at the July 18 briefing.