Council approves deferral of McLaughlin Road infrastructure until development permits are filed

The Mount Vernon City Council approved a closed-record request to defer required infrastructure improvements for a two-lot short plat on McLaughlin Road until each lot applies for development permits.

Senior Planner Mary Ann Manville told council the eastern portion of the property had been reclassified in the 2020 comprehensive plan and the developer subdivided the parcel along that designation line to complete a rezone. Manville said the site is encumbered with critical areas, including wetlands, that require coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Washington State Department of Ecology; mitigation and permits must be finalized before a feasible development plan can be prepared.

Manville said the defendant-properties lie at the eastern edge of the city adjacent to Skagit County farmland; utilities are not expected to extend beyond the city boundary. The hearing examiner held a public hearing May 14 and recommended approval; the council opened and closed the closed-record hearing June 25 with no parties of record appearing to speak. The council approved Resolution 1075 to allow the developer to defer infrastructure construction until each lot seeks development permits.

Council members questioned the zoning designation and whether the lot intended for donation to a church would be taxed; Manville said the church parcel is currently planned to be donated and that the public zoning designation allows religious institutions. City staff confirmed the short-plat conditions included the deferral and required future permit-level improvements be completed when each lot develops.

The council vote followed the hearing examiner’s recommendation; the recorded motion passed and the resolution was signed by the mayor as the next step in the subdivision and rezone process.