Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lopez Landing extension request prompts committee to seek urgent Public Works review of Weeks Road access and pedestrian safety
Summary
Developers asked for another extension on the Lopez Landing preliminary plat; applicants say the project has engineering and ecology work complete but timeline delays from staffing turnovers and COVID justify additional time. Committee members raised safety concerns about increased residences and traffic on Weeks Road and asked for a special meeting with Public Works before the hearing examiner considers the extension on June 24.
The Lopez Landing preliminary plat and a request for a second extension drew a lengthy exchange between the applicant team and the Lopez Village Planning Review Committee over project timing, wetland constraints and life‑safety impacts on village roads.
Bob Anderson of STAR Surveying, speaking for the applicant, traced the project’s long history: preliminary steps began in 2004, extensive engineering and environmental reviews were completed, and a 2019 hearing‑examiner approval produced the current preliminary plat. Anderson said prior planner turnover and COVID delays prevented earlier site work and that the team has only recently been able to begin construction activities. He asked the committee to support the extension request that will go to the hearing examiner on June 24.
Multiple committee members said the project as now proposed has more residences and traffic implications than the plan they reviewed in 2016. Barbara Thomas and others urged the applicant and planning staff to pursue a one‑way ingress or other access changes to reduce traffic pressure on Weeks Road and to guarantee safe pedestrian and bicycle access from the village to the market, post office and family resource center.
"If we allow this project to go forward the way the drawings are currently, how do we get it reversed?" a committee member asked, stressing a desire to solve access issues before on‑site work progressed. Committee members highlighted a stretch where the proposed internal emergency access is 12 feet wide and currently designated for emergency/pedestrian use only; they suggested a gate or other design elements to limit non‑emergency vehicle use if the backway remains restricted.
Staff and the applicant noted jurisdictional limits once wetlands are implicated; work that impacts wetlands may trigger Army Corps of Engineers and Washington Department of Ecology reviews that can take years. The applicant emphasized that the subdivision has been reduced from an earlier 32‑lot concept to an approved 28‑lot plan and that the design team includes experienced site designers and mitigation work.
Darcy Nielsen, the county planning manager present for staff, described the request as a hearing‑examiner matter because the code does not clearly provide for a second extension at staff level; she advised committee members to raise technical concerns at the June 24 hearing if they wish to oppose renewal. The committee asked Sofia Castle (DCD liaison) and Darcy to organize a special meeting with Public Works to attempt a negotiated solution for Weeks Road safety before the hearing examiner decision.
No formal county decision was made at the meeting; the extension will be considered by the hearing examiner on the scheduled date. The committee set a tentative special meeting within two weeks to focus on access and safety and asked staff to ensure relevant public‑works staff are available.
