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Comment #012 <br /> Easton Subarea Plan—Public Comment <br /> • Development that converts open space, forest, or natural landscape into predominantly <br /> built environment <br /> Uses that create strip commercial patterns along highway corridors, especially near <br /> other LAMIRD commercial uses <br /> Uses incompatible with adjacent working forest land, airport operations, or outdoor <br /> recreation values <br /> • Any development within a Critical Aquifer Recharge Area that has not undergone a <br /> verified CARA review, mitigation sequencing, and Best Available Science analysis <br /> • 24/7 commercial operations that generate noise, light pollution, and heavy vehicle traffic <br /> incompatible with rural character <br /> 7. USE THE RIGHT PROCESS FOR THE RIGHT PROPOSAL <br /> The subarea plan should make clear that a variance is not the appropriate mechanism for <br /> approving development that exceeds Type 3 LAMIRD dimensional standards. A variance <br /> addresses minor deviations in cases of practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship. It is not a <br /> tool for authorizing development at a fundamentally different scale or intensity than what the <br /> zoning allows. <br /> Recommended subarea plan language: "Any proposed development that exceeds the <br /> dimensional standards established in KCC 17.15.070 for rural General Commercial zoning shall <br /> not be processed as a variance. Proposals that would fundamentally alter the character, scale, <br /> or intensity of land use shall be evaluated as a Comprehensive Plan amendment and rezone, <br /> subject to full public participation, environmental review, and policy analysis as required by the <br /> Growth Management Act." <br /> 8. SUMMARY OF REQUESTED SUBAREA PLAN ADDITIONS <br /> I respectfully request that the Easton Subarea Plan be updated to include the following <br /> provisions: <br /> 4. Restate the binding dimensional limits from KCC 17.15.070 (30,000 sq ft total area, <br /> 4,000 sq ft retail, 33% impervious surface) as hard caps that cannot be exceeded <br /> through variance. <br /> 5. Require documented proof of prior commercial occupancy through historical aerial <br /> photography and county records before any Type 3 LAMIRD development is approved. <br /> 6. Mandate verified critical areas review cross-referenced against County CARA maps <br /> and Group A Wellhead Protection Area maps for every development application. <br /> 7. Require mitigation sequencing and Best Available Science for all proposals within or <br /> within 200 feet of a Critical Aquifer Recharge Area. <br /> 8. Require compatibility review for proposals adjacent to DNR resource lands and the <br /> Easton State Airport, consistent with Comprehensive Plan Policies T-P44 and RR-P2. <br /> 9. Prohibit strip commercial development patterns along highway corridors, consistent <br /> with GMA and Comprehensive Plan policy. <br /> 10. Direct over-scale proposals to the Comprehensive Plan amendment and rezone <br /> process, not variance, to ensure adequate public participation and environmental <br /> review. <br /> Page 4 <br />