Council approves industrial rezoning at 1902 E. Washington Dam Road despite planning commission concerns

WASHINGTON CITY — The Washington City Council voted 4-0 on June 11 to approve an ordinance rezoning 1902 East Washington Dam Road from RA-5 (rural/agricultural) to I-1 (light industrial).

The council action overturned a June 4 Planning Commission recommendation that had unanimously recommended denial because of nearby residential uses and limited access to the lot. Council members said the site’s general-plan designation as industrial and the city’s need for light industrial land weighed in favor of approval.

Community Development Assistant Director Eldon Gibb told the council the request is consistent with the city’s general plan and supported by staff. "The I-1 request is to use the land in accordance with the I-1 use list ... which purpose is to provide appropriate space for uses such as storage yards, warehousing, light manufacturing," Gibb said during his presentation.

The council’s discussion focused on practical constraints that will be addressed later in the development process: the property’s single private access lane (described in the meeting as roughly 26 to 28 feet wide), the presence of a house on the site and a drainage/wash area that limits usable acreage. City staff and the applicant said those factors make the parcel better suited to a single light-industrial user or a contractor-type operation than to large-scale industrial subdivision.

Applicant representative Dave Clough, who identified himself as a commercial real estate broker, said demand for small industrial sites in Washington County is high. "Washington County in general is severely lacking and has a huge demand for industrial sites like this," Clough said. He described the likely market as small contractors or other users that would not generate heavy smoke or large industrial emissions.

Property owner Russ Robinson addressed runoff and stormwater concerns, saying the site contains a pond that slows water before it flows onto Bureau of Land Management property. "I've got a little pond in the back that kinda slows it down," Robinson said.

Council members and staff warned that rezoning would affect the house on the property. The city attorney said the residence is a pre-existing nonconforming use; if the parcel is rezoned to industrial, that home would no longer be a permitted residential use in the zone and likely would need to be converted or removed if the owner or a future buyer sought full industrial development. "We call it a pre existing nonconforming use ... we interpret that as meaning that that house would ... go to that new use as well," the city attorney told the council.

Staff and the city engineer said access, traffic and any runoff issues would be addressed at the site-plan and subdivision stage. City engineering staff warned that certain high-turnover uses (for example, public-facing storage-unit developments) could present access problems on the narrow private lane and would be reviewed closely if proposed.

After hearing from staff, the applicant and council members, Councilman Henderson moved to approve the ordinance; Councilman Ivy seconded. The council voted unanimously to adopt the rezoning (Ivy — aye; Caspersen — aye; Henderson — aye; Coates — aye).

Next steps include formal subdivision and site-plan review, where access improvements, required road widths, traffic management and stormwater controls will be evaluated and any necessary mitigation required by city standards.