SEQUIM — City officials are still digesting the details of a complex court ruling handed down in a land-use appeal over a proposed regional shopping center on the city’s west side.
But the overall mood among staff — and the developer who wants to build the complex — is upbeat.
Representatives of the proposed center, called Sequim Village Marketplace, say it could easily be open for business by the end of this year.
It is to be anchored by a Home Depot home improvement warehouse outlet.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge George Wood, in a ruling issued Tuesday, effectively denied a request by citizens group Sequim First for a court-ordered independent environmental impact statement on the expansive project planned by AVB Developers.
But Wood did not rubber-stamp the City Council’s decision to uphold permitting for the center, as a judge in Thurston County did last week for a project that will bring a Wal-Mart “supercenter” to the same part of town.
Instead, Wood directed city officials to solicit from AVB more detailed proposals on its water drainage and monitoring systems prior to issuing final permits.
He also ordered the city and AVB to work out a definitive plan on how a $100,000 “contribution” AVB made toward mitigating traffic impacts on county roads leading to the site will be spent.
Although all that might sound complicated, it can probably be worked out without a hitch, City Manager Bill Elliott said Wednesday.