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Roche Harbor seeks map amendment to add 119 acres to master-plan resort; county staff preview environmental and procedural tests
Summary
A land‑use application would redesignate about 119 acres near Roche Harbor’s airfield to expand the resort master-plan resort boundary so the resort can relocate previously approved dwelling units that wetlands make undevelopable. County planning staff flagged required planned-unit-development review and possible conditions for public recreation,
San Juan County planning staff briefed the council July 15 on a proposed comprehensive-plan map amendment and associated amendments to the Roche Harbor resort master plan. The applicant requests redesignation of roughly 119 acres from rural residential to master-plan resort to enable Roche Harbor to relocate dwelling units that wetlands and buffers have rendered unbuildable on land previously assumed developable.
Why it matters: The Roche Harbor Master Plan (adopted in the 1990s) authorizes a number of resort-related uses and a specific number of dwelling units within the master-plan resort boundary. The applicant says wetlands discovered near the airfield reduce the number of buildable acres in the existing resort boundary; expanding the master-plan resort area would allow Roche Harbor to accommodate the original unit total without increasing the overall unit cap.
What staff said: Sofia Kassem, long-range planner, said the county’s consultants (David Evans & Associates) recommended moving forward with the proposed map amendment subject to conditions including protection of recreation and open-space resources and planned-unit-development review for any large new buildings or new subdivisions. The county will also need to amend the land‑use element and the resort master-plan text and maps if the map change is approved.
Key points for council and public: Any large-scale development in the newly designated resort area would require a planned-unit-development (PUD) process that specifies unit locations, circulation, utilities and open space; planned developments must comply with shoreline and critical-area regulations. Staff noted the Roche Harbor disc-golf course and trail network are located in the parcels adjacent to the proposed expansion and said the community will likely weigh in on public-access and trail impacts.
Timing and process: DCD will take the matter to the planning commission for hearings; the planning commission can forward a recommendation to council. Because the comprehensive plan can be amended only once per year, the county will schedule the final hearings in concert with the county’s annual comp-plan update (anticipated later in the year). Staff emphasized more outreach and more technical wetlands and hydrology study may be needed before any final decision.
Public comments: Roche Harbor management made a public comment urging approval to allow housing for long-term staff and to preserve the master plan’s housing allocation. Friends of the San Juans and other commenters have raised wetland, shoreline and sea-level-rise concerns for Decatur and other shoreline projects in separate agenda items, which staff noted as examples of critical-area sensitivity in shoreline zones.
