CLEARING AND GRADING BEING DONE
WHY IS THE COUNTY ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN?
THERE ARE NO APPROVED BUILDING PLANS
On December, 30,2024 Jefferson County planner Cristina Haworth wrote to us about the proposed preliminary plat:
There is no change in the current status. We have not received a resubmittal and there is no anticipated or scheduled hearing date
Also:
DCD is aware of the plan to use modular construction, but we have no permitting documents related to the proposal. You can view some information about this in the preliminary plat request. In the “Preliminary Plat Application re-submittal materials” section, look for the revised SEPA checklist and the modular construction document. There are some brief mentions of the modular construction approach in the original application documents, but the resubmittal includes more information.
Modular construction is regulated largely by WA L&I and you will eventually want to reach out to them. I don’t think anything has been submitted to the state for review at this point, though.
On January 3, 2025 Ms Haworth wrote:
The County cannot control what the developer’s team says. A combination of County and State permits and authorizations are required, including the manufacturing facility and the modules as well as the manufacturing process. When we have more information about the facility and the process, we will be able to determine exactly which permits or authorizations are necessary.
The clearing shown in the pictures has been going on since 2021 on the proposed site of the Pleasant Harbor Master Planned Resort (MPR).
The developer started with a DNR permit for logging and now may be clearing under two stormwater permits from the county and the state. Usually, compliance with stormwater codes is based on a set of project development plans that show the amount of impervious surface that will be constructed and calculations of anticipated stormwater runoff from those surfaces based on rainfall averages. Sizes of stormwater ponds or infiltration facilities are calculated based on anticipated runoff volumes in comparison with existing conditions.
The Brinnon Group has sent pictures of the clearing to both the county planning department and to the state Department of Ecology. The county did a site visit, and county Development Code Administrator Greg Ballard, wrote after the site visit, “Based on my cursory review, the proposal appeared to be in compliance with the …stormwater plan for grading and clearing.” The state entered our concerns as a report of an environmental issue and sent the report to Ecology Water Quality Program, Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program, Fish and Wildlife, US Army Corps, and Jefferson County Code Enforcement.
If you wish to discuss this with your favorite county commissioner: JeffBoCC@co.jefferson.wa.us
Stormwater Permit Approval Letter
NOTE: Information on permits required for the MPR is available here: https://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/761/Pleasant-Harbor-MPR-EIS, and the permit list is on page iv. The list is available in the application documents, and you can find that here: https://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/DocumentCenter/View/18723/Other-Permits-Required---Applicant-Response.
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BRINNON GROUP LETTER TO COUNTY QUESTIONING THEM ABOUT MEETING WITH STATESMAN TO RECONSIDER THE TWO TECHNICAL REVIEW LETTERS WITHOUT PROVIDING ANY RESPONSES TO THE COMMENTS SUBMITTED MAY 21 OR DETAILS OF THE MEETING(S)
“The undocumented and unsupported request for reconsideration of the carefull prepared civil and technical review comments, and your grant of that request, is contrary to the plain Jefferson County Code requirements. Devising “anonymous procedures” to avoid code requirements for a major development project is not permissible, especially for a project of this magnitude.
Based on the foregoing, we urge you to rescind the grant of any verbal or other request for reconsideration of your review comments, to insist on clear answers to the content of the review letters and to promptly make such information available to the public.”
The technical review letters lay out a number of actions the developer would have to take to have an adequate plan for the MPR
If you have any questions, you can contact us at brinnongroup@gmail.com
UPDATE ON DUCKABUSH BRIDGE PROJECT
EXERPT: The state and the federal government are planning to replace the Duckabush Bridges and to restore the river estuary at the same time . The plan calls for about 1600 feet of Highway 101 to be elevated above the estuary on support piers. Historic channels of the river would be restored.
Jefferson County has approved a master planned resort with almost 900 units and recreational facilities on the same estuary. Extensive review of the resort did not include the planned salmon recovery project or the impacts of an urban density project on it.
The changes to the highway, bridges, and river are expected to cost more than $100 million. Planning started in the mid 1990’s, involving the state Fish and Wildlife and Transportation departments, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group.
See more information
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1. The Statesman Company has proposed a Master Planned Resort (MPR) at Brinnon on Hood Canal in Jefferson County.
MPRs are an exception to the prohibition of urban development in rural areas. However, the Growth Management Act requires that MPRs are not a typical residential development but must meet requirements such as being “a self-contained and fully integrated planned unit development…with a range of developed on-site indoor or outdoor recreational facilities.”
2. Before land sales can take place, infrastructure and recreational amenities must be complete. Four years ago, the developer attempted to move forward with its plans without committing to completing facilities that would qualify it for an MPR, but the Brinnon Group successfully sued in Superior Court to require that infrastructure must be complete before land sales can occur.
3. Now the developer is once again promoting sales of property in the MPR without completing any of the work required by its terms of approval. Sales brochures have been sent through the US mail to local residents in Western Washington, including referencing advertising on various internet sites.
4.The Brinnon Group has filed complaints with the Washington State Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division and the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau seeking orders to cease deceptive sales activity until site work and amenities are complete. The full complaint is on the Brinnon Group website.
5. Though the sale material conveys the impression the MPR is move-in ready, in fact there are not even permit applications, much less completed facilities for any of the elements required for the MPR, including:
a. Community recreation center with 208 short term hotel rooms, pool, waterslides, hockey rink, and sports courts
b. Road network and road improvement on Highway 101
c. A nine-hole golf course
d. 52 residential units for MPR staff
Indeed, the essential of development, sewer and water facilities, are not even in the planning stage, though Stateman promises ”indoor pools, hockey and skating, indoor soccer and other training facilities” to prospective owners. It also fancifully promises a “health center” offering “an approved surgical operatory” for various procedures including “plastic surgery, urology and gynecology.”
6. The developer appears to lack basic financing for this substantial venture; indeed, it asked local and state governments for some $37million in grants and loans for the project a few years ago.