The Clark County council will go back to work next month to address hundreds of errors in Clark County Councilor David Madore’s zoning proposal.
The Clark County council has scheduled a public hearing for 10 a.m. Jan. 19, to fix problems in the Alternative 4 portion of the preferred alternative to the county’s Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update.
Up until now, Madore’s controversial zoning proposal has been shown to the public in three maps, each featuring proposed changes to lots zoned rural, agricultural and forest.
When the maps were merged to be included in the preferred alternative, 320 lots were found to have errors or omissions, Deputy Community Planning Director Gordy Euler said.
To simplify things, Euler said, “we had a bunch of places where things were screwed up.”
But before property owners fret, Euler said the errors are “not a huge deal.” Changes are not being made to Alternative 4 and the preferred alternative beyond correcting the errors. Furthermore, it’s just changes to a zoning proposal, not immediate changes to zoning.
The county has sent letters to about 250 property owners whose land could be affected.
Clark County’s zoning plan update has been the subject of controversy most of the year, beginning when Madore introduced his zoning proposal in March despite having no background in planning. The Republican councilor has maintained a strong hold on the planning process, introducing planning assumptions that would change what makes a lot “buildable.”
Recently, the council approved a preferred alternative that included all of Madore’s Alternative 4 — despite the Planning Commission twice voting not to recommend the plan — as well of parts of all three staff-developed alternatives. It also approved a contract with Mercer Island-based firm R.W. Thorpe and Associates, which will analyze Madore’s planning assumptions to determine whether they’re factually accurate.
The Clark County council, however, could take the land-use plan in a different direction after Marc Boldt, no party, and Julie Olson, Republican, join the council next week. Both have called for another look at Alternative 4, and possibly changing course if it’s determined that the alternative presents too many legal challenges.
