PORT HADLOCK — Jefferson County commissioners on Monday completed the Port Hadlock-Irondale urban growth area by adding zoning to the approximately 1,320-acre configuration about five miles south of Port Townsend.
Urban growth areas were created under the state’s Growth Management Act aimed at eliminating urban sprawl and preserving open spaces in rural areas.
The commissioners’ approval hinges on rectifying a problem with the zoning map that changed the area around Curtis Street from residential to commercial late in the process.
During a public hearing last week, residents in the area expressed surprise at the change from a map they’d seen earlier in the year.
Community Development Director Al Scalf said that properties on Curtis that currently houses businesses will be left in the commercial zone while residents will be returned to the residential zone.
County staff said the change could have been made accidentally and pointed out other map errors that needed to be fixed before the commissioners actually sign the ordinance.
Standing ovation
In approving the urban growth area, the commissioners offered a standing ovation for residents and the Planning Commission for their years of sustained effort while blasting those who they say protested against the plan in an effort aimed only at halting growth.
“I don’t want to see the county paved over, but we need to have reasonable growth,” said Commissioner Glen Huntingford, R-Chimacum.
His voice shaking in anger, Huntingford railed against those from outside the urban growth area who spoke against it during last week’s public hearing.
“Thirty people showed up out of the blue (at the public hearing). They didn’t participate in any of the planning. They’re ulterior motive is to stop anything in the county.”