Editor’s note: This story has been updated from the print edition that appeared on Wednesday, May 15.
PORT ANGELES — A proposed rezone of 4.5 acres between Old Joe Road, Doyle Road and U.S. Highway 101 for a proposed Dollar General Plus store will be the subject of a public hearing before the Port Angeles hearing examiner on Thursday.
The hearing is set for 9 a.m. in the Port Angeles City Council Chambers, 321 E. Fifth St.
Documents for the proposal are available at https://www.cityofpa.us/145/Current- Projects-and-Plans.
The proposal, which would rezone the area from residential low density to commercial shopping district, was the subject of a community meeting Thursday, when Won Choi of Port Angeles gave a presentation to 41 people detailing what he said are the drawbacks.
“We have over 200 signatures,” Choi said. “A quick analysis by 123 West Design Collective, a new local architectural firm, of the Port Angeles Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map shows more than 100 homes marked for commercial zoning and now are single family homes.
“I knocked on more than 80 doors in my neighborhood and spoke with more than 60 residents, and not a single person was aware their home was inside the commercial designation in the comprehensive plan,” he said.
City and county zoning is a more specific land use designation established in the comprehensive plan.
In an April 15 letter to Ben Braudrick, planning supervisor for Port Angeles, Clallam County Community Development Director Bruce Emery wrote that the purpose of the county’s “neighborhood conservation” zone includes maintaining low density rural residential areas and that the proposed “commerical shopping district” zone would be a “significant intrusion of incompatible, intensive commercial uses.”
The proposed store would be 10,640 square feet with 35 parking spaces on 2.48 acres. A Dollar General Plus store is larger than the typical 7,000-square-foot to 9,000-square-foot Dollar General store and includes a refrigerated foods section.
The project is contingent upon the sale of the property from James N. Turner of Port Angeles to 6S DG Port Angeles WA LLC.
The Clallam County Assessor’s Office lists Turner as the owner but is about a month behind in processing land sales.
6S DG Port Angeles WA LLC was incorporated in Delaware on Oct. 12, 2023. Its registered agent is Harvard Business Services of Lewes, Del. Companies frequently incorporate in Delaware for tax, privacy, expediency and other benefits.
Choi said the proposed rezone sets a dangerous precedent and is an example of “spot zoning,” which the American Planning Association warns against because it benefits few at the expense of the many.
“This intensive land use in the middle of a residential neighborhood is out of character and out of scale,” Choi said. “It is highly inappropriate.”
The hearing examiner’s recommendation to the city council will be made within 10 business days following the public hearing. The city council will consider the recommendation at a future meeting.
Any appeal must be filed in Clallam County Superior Court within 21 days of the decision.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached by email at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
