Several Brockway Road residents in Chehalis raised concerns over rezoning proposals during a public hearing held by the Lewis County Planning Commission on Wednesday, May 7, in Chehalis.
The hearing was held to gather input about the rezoning, which is being considered as part of the county’s ongoing Comprehensive Plan update. Discussion was also held as to proposed changes to the Onalaska Subarea Plan.
Rezoning proposals are currently being considered by the planning commission for recommendation to the Lewis County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), which will vote on whether or not to approve rezoning.
On Brockway Road, parcels are currently zoned RRC-R1, a rural residential center with a minimum parcel size of 1 acre, or RDD-5, a rural development district with a minimum parcel size of 5 acres.
Other RRC and RDD designations in the county include RRC-R2, RRC-R.5, RRC-R10,000, RDD-10 and RDD-20.
Lewis County Community Development Director Mindy Brooks explained with population projections showing growth in Lewis County over the next 20 years, county staff have proposed consolidating all RRC zoned areas — including the ones on Brockway Road — with STR, or small town residential, zoning.
By consolidating the existing RRC zoned areas with STR, properties will be given a simple RRC designation, and landowners will have the option to break up their property into quarter-acre lots.
While this would help accommodate more housing for projected population growth, the residents who spoke out had concerns about what more housing in rural areas such as Brockway Road could mean.
Brockway Road resident Julia Van Paepeghem said both she and her neighbors were concerned about new septic systems that will be needed — and could potentially leak. Traffic is another major concern, as she said many drivers already speed in the area where children and residents walk and ride their bikes.
“Brockway Road is already extremely busy,” Van Paepeghem said. “I’ve lived on it since 1976, and there’s been fatalities at the bottom of the hill.”
Van Paepeghem was one of several residents who submitted a written letter expressing their concerns about the proposed rezoning.
“We love our neighborhood and we love our community. We don’t want urban sprawl. We don’t want more and more houses,” she added.
Her neighbor, Gary Shelton, concurred with Van Paepeghem, especially on the septic system contamination threat.
“I have 5 acres and I have a well and I have a septic system. It all works great,” Shelton said. “My concern is if you increase the density with septic tanks, I don’t think my well is gonna make it.”
He added he was currently retired and would not be able to afford the cost of hooking up to the City of Chehalis water and sewer system.
A Brian Drive resident, Maggie Edwards told the planning commission she moved to the Brockway Road area specifically for her family.
“I just wanted to add the reasons why I purchased (land), as it exists now in the zoning that’s here now, is to have that more rural community,” Edwards said. “I have young children. I wanted to have something for them that I had as a child. The ability to play in the neighborhood safely without a lot of car traffic.”
Also living on Brian Drive, Maria King shared Edwards sentiments.
“We moved from King County. We wanted to escape King County because it was too crowded, too much traffic,” King said. “Safety was an issue and we were looking for something like Chehalis, a small town … We really love it here. We don’t want another King County here.”
Lewis County Planning Commission Chair Frank Corbin responded to King’s comment.
“If I can just get an editorial comment here, we don’t want King County here, either,” Corbin said. “Or Portland.”
In response to residents’ concerns, Brooks explained that the new RRC zoning designation would not mandate that all parcels be broken up into quarter-acre lots. If a property owner wanted to break up their parcel, they would still need to ensure each new lot had sewer and water.
“It would become a site-by-site analysis. So, allowing something doesn’t mean something can happen. We allow a lot of things in the county that can’t necessarily happen on every lot,” Brooks said. “It opens up the allowance for quarter-acre lots, and then it’s a site-by-site analysis to determine, can you get water on there? Is there enough space for septic? That’s a soil analysis. Where are the critical areas? Where are your steep slopes?”
Brooks added the residents did have valid concerns about housing density in the area and the potential issues more homes could bring.
However, she maintained consolidating existing zoning into the simple RRC designation best prepares the county to handle any potential population influxes.
“We have all these different (zoning) flavors all over the place, and the proposal is let’s just all call them the same thing,” said Brooks. “Quarter-acre lots, that is the median size of lots across all the RRCs … and then it becomes a site-by-site analysis and it helps us focus growth.”
Brooks also stated the idea to consolidate the different RRC zoning designations into one was solely a staff proposal, and was not brought forward to accommodate a request from a developer.
Onalaska Subarea Plan update
Discussion of the Onalaska Subarea Plan update was much shorter, as though zoning and land use changes are proposed in Onalaska, the subarea plan update was developed by a community advisory committee consisting of 21 Onalaska residents.
One of those residents was Harry Bhagwandin, who advocated for adopting the updated Onalaska Subarea Plan. The community advisory committee aimed to provide more affordable housing while maintaining the rural farm community feel of Onalaska.
“I helped draft and fully support this vision, as it recognizes the unique character of Onalaska and balances future growth with the need to maintain the rural charm we found our residents cherish,” Bhagwandin said.
Some of the policies listed in the draft Onalaska Subarea Plan on the county’s website include encouraging high and medium density housing development in Onalaska’s downtown area, with a focus on construction with small town character.
Single-family housing types such as duplexes, tiny home villages and accessory dwelling units are also encouraged.
As far as business growth in Onalaska, the members of the community advisory committee decided to keep commercial and business zoning limited to the downtown area along state Route 508, Carlisle Avenue and Leonard Road.
For more information on the proposed Onalaska Subarea Plan update and to view the draft and other associated documents, visit Lewis County’s website at https://tinyurl.com/mvs3rtbx.
As for the next steps in the county’s Comprehensive Plan update, the Lewis County Planning Commission will hold its final public hearing on all of the proposed land use and zoning changes on Tuesday, May 13.
Comprehensive plans give government organizations a 20-year vision of projected growth and how to manage it, and the update is mandated by the Washington state Growth Management Act. The Lewis County commissioners must adopt an updated Comprehensive Plan by December 2025.
Upon conclusion of the public hearing on May 13, the planning commission will vote on whether or not to recommend county staff proposals to the Lewis County Board of County Commissioners, who have final say on whether or not they are approved.
For more information on the proposed zoning changes throughout the county, along with all other elements incorporated into the Lewis County Comprehensive Plan update, visit the county’s website at https://tinyurl.com/c5c884dy.
Documents specific to zoning changes can be found at https://tinyurl.com/435wnzk4.
