PORT ANGELES — Clallam County lawmakers delayed a decision on a proposed taxing district to improve Striped Peak Road to get more legal advice from their attorneys.
Property owners would reimburse the county $664,500 with interest over 20 years under the current proposal.
The money would be used to pave and widen a 2,180-foot section of gravel road from where the pavement ends near Freshwater Bay to Ocean Cove Lane.
A turnout would be built at Ocean Cove Lane to give emergency response crews a place to turn around. The newly paved section would become a county road.
A decision could come as early as next Monday, when the three county commissioners discuss the road improvement district in both open and closed-door sessions.
Several property owners opposed the proposed lot-based method of assessment in a public hearing held in Port Angeles last week.
Under the lot method, the state Department of Natural Resources would pay the same amount for its 65-acre lot as the owner of a small parcel.
Estimated cost
The estimated cost to a property owner is $650 per year plus simple interest over 20 years. Property owners would have the option to pay the entire $13,561 at once.
If the size of a lot was used in the assessments, the owner of a five-acre parcel would be responsible for $10,632.34 plus interest over 20 years.
Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Doug Jensen and Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols told County Administrator Jim Jones that they had reviewed some the issues but were not prepared to make formal recommendations Monday.
“They also don’t believe it would be appropriate to present those recommendations in an open session,” Jones added.
“It really needs to be done in executive session for legal advice, for fear that it creates a waiver problem of being able to hold executive sessions for any kind of [future] legal problem.”
Assessment hearing
In Jensen’s initial review, he told Jones that concerns raised by citizens in the July 26 formation hearing were more appropriate for an assessment hearing. An assessment hearing for Striped Peak Road has not been scheduled.
Jensen also told Jones that the formation of a junior taxing district should stand or fall based on whether a majority of property owners support the proposal.
Thirty-four out of 49 property owners surveyed said they supported the proposal after a group of residents petitioned the county to pave the road, Dave Bibler, the county engineer leading in the project, has said.
The commissioners scheduled another deliberation session on the road improvement district for next Monday’s work session.
The commissioners said they may deliberate on legal matters in an executive session before they reach a decision.
“My preference would be that we make sure we’re on sound legal footing because there’s been some good comments raised by residents of the area about the various items in the proposal — designation of lots, the boundaries, classification of two large parcels,” Commissioner Mike Doherty said.
“At least I’d prefer to get their best advice before we move forward.”
About 20 Striped Peak residents attended Monday’s session.
EPA funds
In other discussion, Cathy Lear, Clallam County Habitat biologist, told the commissioners that the county has received $999,915 from the Environmental Protection Agency to integrate the “no less loss” concept to the county’s state-mandated update to its Shoreline Master Program.
The money will be used for forums, for the study the no net loss of ecological functions and to gauge the results of Jefferson County’s recently-adopted shoreline planning document.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.