Ocean Shores seeks conditional-use permit to convert former Ace Hardware into city hall and police station

On April 1, 2026, the City of Ocean Shores presented a conditional-use permit request to repurpose an existing B1 retail building (the former Ace Hardware) at 171 East Chance Oliver Street NE into a consolidated City Hall and police station.

Marshall Read, the city's lead planner, said the building is approximately 23,680 square feet and sits within a larger city block; staff recommended either treating the use as permitted in the B1 business district or approving it as a conditional use, and asked the hearing examiner to resolve an apparent conflict in code text. The examiner said statutory-construction principles favor the specific business-district provision and indicated he would treat the project as eligible for a CUP and include his analysis in the written decision. The SEPA checklist produced a mitigated determination of non-significance with limited agency comments.

Becky Leech, the city's project manager, said consolidating most city staff (except public works) into a single building would improve public service and internal efficiency by providing a shared front counter and more centralized operations. City Administrator Scott Anderson described the current police facility as a modular building that lacks space and durability and said the proposed central site is a "once-in-a-unique" opportunity. Chief of Police Carrie Vesco testified the department lacks dedicated training and briefing space, secure evidence storage that preserves chain-of-custody, and resilient facilities for emergencies.

Public commenters were largely supportive. Peggy Faria and Jan Hyatt urged swift action and asked about ingress/egress, lighting and a double wall between police and municipal spaces. Online commenter Donald Williams supported the project but expressed concern that the public had limited prior notice and asked how the project would be funded; he noted a prior failed bond proposal years earlier and said construction could not realistically start without a financing plan.

Council Member Richard Wills said council members and department heads had been briefed and expressed confidence that financing and space needs were being addressed. City staff clarified that the CUP would apply only to the building being repurposed (the city would short-subdivide the larger parcel to carve out that building) and that a shared-parking agreement would address parking needs for the use, not automatically rezone or change uses across the entire larger block.

The hearing examiner adjourned the matter and said he will issue a written decision on the CUP within 10 business days.