PLANNING COMMISSION
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6-28-2021 PLANNING COMMISSION SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT DISCUSSIONS:
The Planning Department summarized information on the Draft Critical Areas Ordinance  along with comments from government agencies and public Comments on the ordinance in a Staff Report presented to the Commission. The Department recommends that the Commission deliberate upon these comments and the Draft CAO tonight. The Department would then make revisions to the current Draft. Comments from the Washington State Departments of Commerce and Fish and Wildlife in particular have highlighted the need for substantial changes in the Ordinance. Reference to some of the same necessary changes were made in public comments.  Procedure of the meeting is discussed and debated in regards to discussion of public comments. Commission member Gina McCoy presents changes she thinks are needed and highlights important public comments she thinks need to be addressed. Other Commission members take turns making more general comments upon the document  in regards to such items as:  organization and understandability of the document; Buffer Averaging; Hearings Examiner vs Planning Commission in the Appeals Process;  need for Clearing and Grading Ordinance;  need for updated Best Available Science, Aquifer Recharge Areas, importance of enforcement of County regulations, Geologic Hazards and Liquefaction and more. The Department will make revisions pursuant to this discussion and written comments and the new Draft will be discussed  by the Planning Commission in a public meeting on August 23, 2021, at 7:00 PM. ​
planning_commission_meeting__cao_6_28_2021.pdf
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4-26-2021 Monday Evening Planning Commission meeting Summary:  Planning Commission amends minutes of 3/22/21 to reflect the election of officers at the insistence of members McCoy and Thornton.  After extended debate over the Commission's  difficulty with orderly operations during the past two meetings, by-laws are amended without the required 30 days' notice, addressing election procedures only. Despite suggestions of Director Palmer, Thornton & others, and McCoy's insistence that by-laws should address the right of all representatives to be heard and their duties to follow points of order and raise issues of concern, the Commission declines to adopt basic rules of order or condensed Roberts' Rules. Chair and Co-chair are most strongly opposed to further rules, promising instead to do a better job of not rushing through the proceedings and apologizing to McCoy for the situation on 4/7/2021. Public hearing on draft Critical Areas Ordinance is set for the next regular PC meeting on Monday, May 24th; details regarding public input or attendance at that meeting not discussed. Deadline for written comment on CAO remains May 21, 2021.  More detailed notes and time stamps will be published later this week. ​
Copperstone Long Plat Application - Public Comment due on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
copperstone_lp_2020-1.pdf
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4/7/21 Wednesday Summary: Importance of voting on motions exactly as stated is discussed. It's established that Planning Commission operates with only vague by-laws and loose meeting procedures written in 1971. Reason for this Special Meeting is clarified:  a vote regarding  the Comp Plan was taken after the meeting was adjourned on 3/22/21. Alternative 3 with certain changes relating to Alternative 4 is selected as Preferred Alt. The record will be passed to BOCC for approval or changes and a public hearing.  Importance of agreed-upon rules of operation before important upcoming decisions to be discussed during regular PC meeting on 4/26/2021, followed by work on Critical Areas Ordinance. 
planning_commission_4_7_2021_pm.pdf
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3-22-2021 Summary of meeting : See summaries at the beginning of each section: Election of Planning Commission members;  Palmer assessment of public comments; Methow Valley More Completely Planned Area (Palmer); Planning Commission comments and questions regarding Comp Plan Draft; Alternatives & Selection of Preferred Alternative.

​Highlights:  Roberts//Dart re-elect themselves after 25 seconds of discussion over objections of 3 PC members, saying the process will be discussed again next year.  Palmer recommends  elements of Alternative 4 be addressed in Methow Valley Addenda to Comp Plan when Methow Valley Sub Area and Sub Unit  Advisory Committees meet, but nothing to that effect is put into writing; Palmer states attorneys all very close to agreement on Comp Plan  lawsuit, but  county will likely face daily fines if Comp Plan is further delayed. Public comments do not need to be addressed by PC because none of the comments brought up anything that was legally lacking. McCoy objects.  Alternative 3  selected as Preferred, with revised wording regarding mostly Rural/Resource designations; no  accompanying map approved yet; no discussion  as to whether the Draft will be sent to BOCC now or later, but Roberts states Draft will be sent as is..  
planning_commission_3_22_2021_final.pdf
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3-8-2021 Planning Commission Public Hearing -Comprehensive Plan and DEIS Addendum.  Link to You Tube Recording here .

Summary :  Comprehensive Plan, and the DEIS addendum. Click on time stamp to go directly to that part of the video.
00:00​ - staff admit attendees to WebEx platform
09:36​ - Planning Commission Chair Al Roberts welcomes public and gives rules of testimony.
12:22​ - Planning Director Pete Palmer gives report and background on Comprehensive Plan
24:12​ - Dick Ewing is called and defers to later speaking slot
25:00​ - John Crandall gives comments
30:33​ - Maggie Coon gives comments
35:08​ - Katie Haven gives comments (audio not available due to recording glitch)
39:01​ - Lorah Super is called and defers to later speaking slot.
39:44​ - Mary Yglesia gives comments.
44:20​ - Melanie Rowland gives comments.
48:55​ - Isabelle Spohn gives comments.
54:50​ - Easton Branam gives comments.
1:02:10​ - Dick Ewing (Farm Bureau) gives comments.
1:04:56​ - Lorah Super (MV Citizens Council) gives comments.
1:09:35​ - Planning commissioners confer amongst themselves about technical issues.
1:12:38​ - Planning commissioner Dave Shultz asks to know the number of comments they have received.
1:14:35​ - Planning commissioner Gina McCoy discusses table of contents of draft comp plan
​1:16:05​ - Planning commissioner Phil Dart asks why very few comments are received from outside the Methow Valley part of the county.


COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

 Existing and Proposed Draft
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Link to Okanogan County Planning Department, here, for a complete list of documents.
draft_comp_plan_final101620.pdf
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Draft Comprehensive Plan 10-16-2020
deisaddendum02022021.pdf
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Draft Environmental Impact Statement 2-22-2021
The existing Comprehensive Plan was approved on December 22, 2014 as BOCC Resolution 119-2014.  To download a copy, click here.​

The December 2014 Comp plan is undergoing revision, and the process for this includes several steps.  

The Planning Commission will review and make their final recommendation to the BOCC, who will vote on the final plan.  The date for this has not been determined.  

It may be helpful to see the County's District Use Chart, which shows various uses and how they are regulated in the different zoning districts.  This chart has been updated.  See Ordinance 2021-4 below.


January 13, 2021 - Letter from Washington State Attorney General's Office -Department of Ecology to Okanogan County - Okanogan County and Issues Relating to the Methow River Basin Instream Flow Rule - Defines "single domestic". 
reichman_letter_re_methow_river_basin_instream_flow_rule.pdf
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Upcoming Hearings
April 5, 2021 - NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING INTERIM CONTROLS IN WATER RESOURCE INVENTORY AREA 48
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Okanogan Board of County Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on April 5, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. to take public testimony regarding ordinance 2021-3 approved on February 10, 2021 that adopted interim land use controls applicable to water resource inventory area 48 with the exception of the Columbia River influence that prohibits the acceptance of any building permit applications for residential development projects within water resource inventory area #48 (with the exception of the Columbia River influence)on parcels of land that were subdivided after March 28, 2002, if the application requires water adequacy/availability determination under RCW 19.27.097 and relies on a withdrawal that is exempt from water rights permitting under RCW 90.44.050.  The public hearing is scheduled to meet the procedural requirements found in RCW 36.70.795.

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2021 Ordinances
Ordinance 2021-1 
ordinance_2021_1_final.pdf
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Ordinance 2021-3 
ordinance2021_3.pdf
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Ordinance 2021-4
2021-004_adopting_interim_amendments_district_chart_and_public_hearing.pdf
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Historical Information - Comprehensive Plan Recommendations


When the Comprehensive Plan was undergoing review for proposed revision in the late-2000's, the County Commissioners obtained state funding to assist the process, which allowed them to form neighborhood groups made up of citizens from the various areas of the County.  County Watch has just received the documents from the County pertaining to these groups, and will post them as time allows.  

The groups met for one to two years and submitted their recommendations to the Planning Director.  The BOCC opted not to use any of them in the final plan that was approved in December 2014, but we felt that since so much work went into this effort that it is worth posting the results so that people can see what their neighbors were thinking about land use and development in 2008.
 2009 Okanogan County Neighborhood Group Vision Statements - 5-13-2009
neighborhood_group_statements_9_26_09.pdf
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Loomis-Nighthawk-Pine Creek-Horse Spring Coulee Advisory Group

Vision Statement
Wauconda-Chesaw-Aneas Valley Advisory Group - no documents available at this time.
​Oroville - Tonasket Advisory Group - no documents available at this time
Riverside - Concunully - Tunk Advisory Group - no documents available at this time.
Omak - Okanogan Advisory Group - no documents available at this time.
Upper Methow Valley Advisory Group - The Mazama Area has a special status as "Sub-unit A in a More Completely Planned Area."  They have their own advisory committee, with their own website.  You can visit it by clicking here, and find links to the "Mazama Plan".

In 2007, the Methow Conservancy commissioned a study to look at the cost of providing community services to different categories of land use in Okanogan County.  It was submitted by the neighborhood group.  You can view the study here.


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2014 Methow Valley More Completely Planned Area
121-2014_methow_valley_more_completely_planned_area.pdf
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METHOW VALLEY PLAN Addendum 1976
methow_addendum_1976.pdf
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Mid-Methow Valley Advisory Group

Vision statement
Goals and Policies (September 2008 draft)
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Lower Methow Valley Advisory Group - This group had a paid facilitator, and much of their work has been preserved.

Vision Statement
Position on Zoning
Endorsement of Mid-Valley group goals and policies
Feedback on Clustering
Agricultural Lands
Clearing and Grading
Critical Areas
Forest Resource Lands
Meeting notes December 6, 2007
Meeting notes February 1, 2008
Meeting notes February 21, 2008
Meeting notes March 6, 2008
Meeting notes March 20, 2008
Meeting notes April 6, 2008
Meeting notes July 31, 2008
Meeting notes August 24, 2008
Brewster - Pateros Advisory Group

Vision Statement
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