Sequim council agrees to endorse county—s request to move 27 emergency shelter beds into city limits
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Summary
Clallam County DCD requested that 27 emergency housing shelter beds be reallocated from the Sequim unincorporated urban growth area to Sequim city limits; county and city staff said the city has paper capacity and recommended a letter of concurrence. Council authorized the city manager to send the concurrence letter so the county can amend Resolution 101 (2024).
Clallam County planning staff and city planning staff asked the Sequim City Council to concur with a county request to reallocate 27 emergency housing shelter beds from the Sequim unincorporated urban growth area (UGA) into the city limits.
Bruce Emery, identified in the presentation as the county DCD director, explained the reallocation is part of an allocation methodology tied to Growth Management Act requirements and the Department of Commerce—s Housing Allocation Planning Tool. Emery said the county allocation originally assigned 27 beds to the UGA while the city—s city-limits share was 164; moving the 27 beds into the city would give Sequim 191 beds and reduce the UGA count to zero. He noted that emergency housing requires commercial zoning and that the city has surplus nonresidential zoning that creates "paper capacity" to accommodate these beds.
City planning staff Carla Boughton described the city—s land capacity analysis and consultant review and said staff concluded the city can demonstrate sufficient capacity under Commerce guidance. Boughton and Emery told council the reallocation would require county action to amend Resolution 101 (2024) and recommended the council authorize the City Manager to send a letter of concurrence documenting the council—s support for the county amendment.
Council members asked how the earlier allocation was determined and whether moving the beds could create a shortfall in the UGA; county staff described the allocation process used in summer 2024 and said the Sequim UGA was intentionally assigned a small share because Sequim asked for a larger share during the allocation discussions. Staff said they did not foresee harm from the reallocation and emphasized that the change is a planning and zoning demonstration of capacity, not an immediate obligation to build shelter facilities.
After questions, council moved to authorize the City Manager to sign and send the draft letter of concurrence; the motion was seconded and approved with no recorded opposition. City staff said the county will follow up with a revision to the county resolution to reflect the change.
