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OPAL food bank CUP heads to hearing examiner; county staff outline related road, crosswalk and asphalt batch-plant plans
Summary
OPAL’s conditional-use permit for a smaller food-bank facility will go to the hearing examiner on Jan. 28; county staff also warned that Granite Construction will operate a temporary asphalt batch plant (6-week window) to support airport runway resurfacing, requiring a SEPA review if the duration or scope expands.
OPAL representatives presented a revised conditional-use permit (CUP) for a food bank that will be considered at a public hearing before the county hearing examiner on Jan. 28.
Bill Singer (introduced to the committee as OPAL’s representative) summarized the project history and explained that the food bank’s footprint has been reduced from earlier proposals for budgetary and neighborhood-concerns reasons. Tracy Smith, the food-bank program manager, said the design uses an efficient two-story layout that leverages existing warehouse space and emphasized the goal of minimizing visual and traffic impacts.
"We decreased the footprint… we tried to make it smaller and fit in," Tracy Smith said, describing the changes made in response to neighbors’ feedback and funding constraints.
County staff told the committee that the food-bank CUP is a standalone land-use review separate from OPAL’s housing development; staff also described planned transportation work tied to the project, including converting the North Beach and Channa Forest intersection to a three-way stop and adding an active crosswalk and sidewalk connections to improve pedestrian safety.
Separately, staff warned the committee that Granite Construction — the prime contractor for runway resurfacing — is proposing a temporary asphalt batch plant at Sea Island for the summer construction window (July–September). Staff explained that the county’s code allows a temporary asphalt batch plant without a full project permit for up to six weeks; if Granite needs to exceed that six-week window or otherwise change operations it will trigger a standalone SEPA review and a different permit process that requires public notice and comment.
Why it matters: The CUP affects the location and scale of a community food resource and has neighborhood and transportation implications; the temporary batch plant and runway work raise questions about noise, truck traffic and coordination with schools and neighborhoods during the summer construction window.
Next steps: The OPAL food-bank CUP will proceed to a public hearing on Jan. 28. Staff will continue coordination on transportation improvements and will inform the public if the asphalt batch plant’s schedule or permit needs expand beyond the allowed temporary use.
