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Hearing examiner pauses decision on Duck Lake Drive wetland exception amid shoreline jurisdiction and neighbor flooding concerns
Summary
At an April 14 hearing, the Ocean Shores hearing examiner left the record open on RUE26000007 (776 Duck Lake Drive NE) after extensive testimony about unavoidable wetland impacts, mitigation sequencing and whether shoreline rules apply; neighbors raised concerns about tides and fill, and staff said the Weatherwax mitigation bank would cover unavoidable impacts.
The Ocean Shores hearing examiner left the record open on April 14 for RUE26000007, a request to allow development of a single-family home at 776 Duck Lake Drive NE that would impact a category 3 wetland and associated buffers, after an extended presentation and public comment on mitigation and shoreline jurisdiction.
Hearing Examiner Peregrine Sorter opened the matter by describing the scope: the site is heavily encumbered by two wetlands and overlapping buffers and is in R1 single-family zoning. City staff and the applicant’s expert said the parcel is effectively 100% encumbered, requiring mitigation sequencing and a mix of on-site and bank measures to compensate for unavoidable impacts. “Impacts are unavoidable,” the project expert said, and the design was revised to retreat the house landward, reduce footprint and place the garage within the house to minimize buffer encroachment.
Why it matters: the parcel sits between a high-quality estuarine wetland (category 1) and a lower-quality freshwater wetland (category 3). That…
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