PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Community Development department is still working on an ordinance regarding the use of recreational vehicles.
The department first brought the ordinance to the three county commissioners this fall, but after hearing a lot of public comment against it, commissioners sent it back to the department following their Jan. 20 meeting.
Department Director Bruce Emery updated commissioners on the progress of the ordinance during their work session on Monday. The ordinance was pretty extensive, Emery said.
“It would have amended five chapters within the zoning code and one chapter within the construction code,” he said. “As we moved ahead, it kind of evolved organically. … But I think its complexity is part of the challenge.”
One portion of the ordinance which should be extracted for its own ordinance is the accessory dwelling unit standards, Emery said.
“We can make that part of our comprehensive plan update, and it would be appropriate to include it in there,” Emery said.
The process for the recreational vehicles (RVs) ordinance began about a year ago, he told commissioners.
Another section of the ordinance the department will look at individually will be the 90-day occupancy limit, which has garnered a lot of public opposition. That portion of the ordinance will be part of the discussion for a true RV use ordinance section, Emery said.
Another part of the proposed ordinance that should be discussed separately is about short-term rentals.
“In an attempt to sort of expand options for short-term rentals, one of the proposals was to allow park models to be used as short-term rentals,” Emery said. “The thinking being, in part, No. 1, expanding economic opportunity, but, No. 2, also kind of creating a release valve, so to speak, from demand for limited housing stock, but that could then hopefully be used more freely as rental and residential occupancy versus short-term rental. But it’s its own issue.”
By branching out the topic, the department would be able to more easily communicate what rules exist for short-term rentals and why.
And that will leave the true RV use component, which deals specifically with the definition of RV park and what the county would consider as a good regulatory program for allowing the occupancy of an RV indefinitely, Emery said.
“I did propose this, or explain this, gave a report to the Planning Commission,” he said. “They expressed interest, and taking another look at it in the context of what the board has already recommended on this matter. So we can certainly move that ahead following our current work schedule, which should be wrapping up relatively soon.”
Breaking the ordinance into separate sections, as Emery recommended, will allow the county to communicate more easily with the public, differentiate between the existing ordinance and the proposed ordinance and lead to a better informed public.
Commissioners invited Emery to attend a forum Feb. 24 during their last regular meeting of the month. Emery said he has a slide presentation that will help communicate the ordinance changes and understanding of what changes are being made.
The Planning Commission likely will work on the RV component of the ordinance in March or April, Emery said.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
