Sequim council holds hearing on emergency moratorium for master-plan overlays as West Bay project stalls

The Sequim City Council opened a public hearing on Sept. 22 on an emergency moratorium on master‑planned overlay applications intended to give staff time to reconcile the city’s comprehensive plan and development regulations before accepting or processing certain large master‑plan applications.

City Attorney Christina Nelson Gross told the council the hearing was required by state rules and that the moratorium was intended to allow staff, applicants and the public “a clear, well‑defined process.” Gross cautioned against describing the action as targeting any single project, saying, “this is not a West Bay moratorium.”

The moratorium prompted immediate opposition from representatives of the West Bay/Seabrook proposal. Casey Roloff, speaking remotely for the applicant, said the team had held multiple voluntary public meetings and had worked with city staff for nearly two years and that the pause felt like a setback. Christine Wilson, an attorney for John Wayne Enterprises, argued the city could correct a planned‑process error without pausing the West Bay application and warned that her client could seek damages if the moratorium improperly delayed a long‑planned transaction.

Heather Burgess, land‑use counsel for Seabrook, told the council the West Bay concept dates to at least 2007 and is referenced in the current comprehensive plan. Burgess and Jeff Gunderson, CFO for Seabrook Land Company, urged the council to adopt a narrow curative comprehensive‑plan amendment and a concurrent code amendment this year instead of a full pause. Gunderson said Seabrook had invested “over $1,400,000 into the West Bay project” and that the company had drafted proposed language to address the city’s procedural concerns.

Speakers representing housing, economic development and residents gave mixed testimony. Timothy Dalton, speaking as a housing professional, warned moratoria can create “hostile situations” for developers and urged cooperative problem solving to address Sequim’s housing shortage. Colleen McAleer, director of the Clallam Economic Development Council, said the county’s average wage makes homeownership unaffordable for many residents and said she did not want Sequim to lose an innovative project that could add a range of housing types. Several residents and business leaders urged the council to prioritize traffic and public‑safety planning for roads that intersect with the Olympic Discovery Trail and state Route 101 if large developments proceed.

Other public commenters pushed the opposite position: Bob Travis, a longtime resident, said the moratorium is an opportunity to ensure the city’s infrastructure and school, medical and transportation planning match the scale of proposed growth. Several speakers said the pause should be used to confirm funding and capacity for water, sewer and emergency services before large master‑planned developments move forward.

City staff told the council they will narrow the moratorium if possible but were not prepared that night to reduce its scope. The public hearing closed after more than two hours of testimony; council members did not take a final vote on the moratorium at the meeting and instead recessed for 10 minutes after closing the hearing.

What happens next: staff said they will continue work reconciling the comprehensive plan and development regulations and return to council with any proposals to narrow the moratorium or with a timeline for processing pending applications. Developers asked the council to prioritize a curative comp‑plan/code amendment this year so processing of the West Bay application could continue without litigation.