Council, planners agree to new start on zoning

After spending three hours discussing the latest draft of an update to the Cathlamet zoning ordinance, members of the town council and planning commission agreed Tuesday that a new start is needed.

Meeting in a special meeting for a workshop, planners and councilors agreed that the latest version, known as Cathlamet Municipal Code Chapter 18A had too many problems to fix easily.

Instead, planners suggested the council should reject 18A when it meets Monday. Planners said they could revive a previous draft that seems more in line with council views, and with good direction, the planners felt they could submit a draft that would be acceptable.

Planners and councilors agreed they wanted the zoning ordinance to provide positive direction for development and land use in the town for the next15-20 years.

Councilmember Bob Rendler, also a former mayor and planning commission member, recalled that the council had asked the planning commission to update the zoning ordinance in 1998, and although the council had made minor revisions to two sections in 2007, the job still isn't done.

Version 18A had two major points which bothered members of both boards. Among them were:

1. Version 18A proposed five zones instead of the current four. They would be Residential Single Family, Mixed Residential, Commercial, Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial. In the present ordinance, the latter are combined into a single Industrial zone. Councilor David Goodroe commented that the new zones would allow unpleasant industrial uses close to residential areas, and they could be managed better as a combined zone.

2. Stacking, a policy of allowing protected uses in less restricted, zones, was unpopular. Stacking would allow people to build a single family residence in a commercial or industrial zone, but not the reverse. Council members said they would prefer to keep the zones restricted only to their intended use.

Planning Commissioner Jim Reed said more discussion is needed on the stacking issue, for the planners hadn't really considered the extended ramifications of the policy.

Councilors had many other concerns. For instance, some felt that parking requirements were unrealistic. Rendler commented that the original develpers of the Marina Estates development on Elochoman Slough asked that the area be zoned Commercial, and the council agreed. However, 18A lists it as Single Family Residential.

Mayor George Wehrfritz questioned the classification of land on the Hancock Forest Industries site as Heavy Industry. The land, between SR 4, and Elochoman Slough, has high potential for single and multiple family residential development because of its waterfront location, he said, and thus could be Mixed Residential.

Planning Commissioner Jennifer Hanigan suggested that land along Broadway Street be classified Commercial instead of Light Industry.

"Small single owner businesses are what are attracting people to town," she said.

Goodroe commented that the planners and council need to be careful how they classify the waterfront area. If they allow industrial users such as Brusco Towboat or Bristol Fisheries as conditional uses, the businesses could face challenges if they went to banks for loans.