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Home My WebLink Aboutord1998-021WMTCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL . NO. 98 -113 CLEARANCES Ininitiial Date Date Received in Council Office: Agenda date Assigned to: ginator: Carl Batchelor Division Head: Sylvia Goodwin 2/27/98 1,0 E O MAR 0 4 19Y WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL 10/98 Council Introduction 'Council 2/27/98 61/24/98 P & D / Dept. Head: Michael Knapp 2/27/98 Prosecutor: 'l1 Purchasing/Budget: Executive: SUBJECT. • File Reference: 01 -982M An Ordinance amending the Official Whatcom county map from Rural Five Acres (R5A) to Light Impact Industrial (LII) for approximately 24 acres and from Rural Five Acres (R5A) to General Commercial for approximately 23 acres in the Urban Fringe Subarea plus an area of I -5 right-of-way east of the initial proposal. in the Cherry Point - Ferndale Subarea. ATTACHMENTS: Proposed Ordinance with Exhibit "A" (Map) and Exhibit "B" (Assessor's Parcel Numbers). Excerpt from Draft Planning Commission minutes, February 26, 1998 SUMMARYSTATEMENT. Please complete sections of box as appropriate & explain the item below. The request is to amend Official Whatcom County Zoning Map from Rural Five Acres (R5A) to Light Impact Industrial (LII) for approximately 24 acres and from Rural Five Acres (R5A) to General Commercial for approximately 23 acres in the Urban Fringe Subarea plus an area of I -5 right -of -way east of the initial proposal in the Cherry Point - Ferndale Subarea; consistent with the Comprehensive Plan designation of Urban Growth Area and consistent with Ferndale's Comprehensive Plan. ORIGINATOR'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: The Director of Planning and Development Services recommends Council adopt the proposed ordinance. COMMITTEE ACTION TAKEN: COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN. 1998-113 3/10/98: Introduced 3/24/98: Adopted 7 - 0. Ord. #98 -021 Aeiuteu rue Ivuiicuer -3: rrvl- 70.r-LF.1 dinance or Resolution Number (this item only): fl� X98 =a2� 1 4 SPONSORED BY: Consent PROPOSED BY: Planning INTRODUCTION DATE: 3/10/98 ORDINANCE NO. 98 -021 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE OFFICIAL WHATCOM COUNTY ZONING MAP FROM RURAL FIVE ACRES (R5A) TO LIGHT IMPACT INDUSTRIAL (LII) FOR APPROXIMATELY 24 ACRES AND FROM. RURAL FIVE ACRES (R5A) TO GENERAL COMMERCIAL (GC) FOR APPROXIMATELY 23 ACRES IN THE URBAN FRINGE SUBAREA PLUS AN ADJACENT AREA OF INTERSTATE 5 RIGHT -OF -WAY IN THE CHERRY POINT - FERNDALE SUBAREA WHEREAS, The Whatcom County Planning and Development Services Department has requested that the Official Whatcom County Zoning Map be amended from Rural Five Acres (R5A) to Light Impact Industrial (LII) for approximately 24 acres and from Rural Five Acres (R5A) to General Commercial (GC) for approximately 23 acres in the Urban Fringe- Subarea; and WHEREAS, pursuant to RCW 36.70.590 legal notice was published in the Bellingham Herald on Thursday, February 12, 1998; and WHEREAS, the Deputy SEPA Official determined in a memorandum dated February 10, 1998 that SEPA requirements have been met by the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statements prepared in conjunction with the City of Ferndale's adoption of a Comprehensive, Plan in 1996 and that no further SEPA review is required by Whatcom County; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed amendment on February 26, 1998 and considered all testimony; and WHEREAS, the Council held a public meeting on March 24, 1998 to consider this matter and approved the Planning Commission recommendation; and WHEREAS, the Council found the amendments in the best interest of the public health, safety, and welfare; and WHEREAS, the Council has adopted the following Findings and Conclusions: Page 1 FINDINGS 1. The subject property is in Ferndale's Urban Growth Area and is within the Short Term Planning Area. Ferndale's plan designates the property, except the Interstate 5 right - of -way, for industrial and commercial use. 2. Existing uses of the subject property include vacant, undeveloped land; 11 single family residences; a natural gas utility; and some agricultural land. 3. Surrounding Uses include partially developed commercial and industrial land inside the Ferndale City Limits to the north; commercial uses to the east; vacant industrially zoned property in Bellingham's UGA to the southeast; single family residences on parcels of one to ten acres in the Rural zone to the south; and 'a beverage distributor And rendering plant in the industrial zone to the west. 4. The area is presently served by individual wells and septic systems, with the potential for Ferndale water and sewer service subject to annexation. Ferndale's Comprehensive Plan assumes that the area will be served by City utilities within the planning period (by 2015) although Ferndale's six year capital facilities plan does not include any project to extend utilities to this area. 5. Fire protection is provided by Whatcom County Fire Protection District Number 8 and the nearest fire station is approximately one mile south on Curtis Road. 6. The subject property has approximately 1,400 feet of frontage on Kope Road to the east which abuts the I -5 northbound on -ramp from Slater road. To the north, the property has approximately 1,700 feet of frontage on Slater Road, a rural major collector. Both Slater Road and Kope Road are constructed to all- weather standards. 7. A portion of the state right -of -way between the subject property and the east side of I -5 was included by the County in Ferndale's Urban Growth Area but was not included in the proposed rezone. The area is also not mapped in Ferndale's Comprehensive Plan. Logically this area should be included in the General Commercial zone to prevent leaving an isolated fragment of UGA with Rural zoning. 8. Site soils are generally not useful for agricultural purposes. 9. The site is in the Silver Creek watershed, is adjacent to Silver Creek, and has a tributary running through it .. About six acres of the site are palustrine emergent wetlands. Silver Creek and the associated "accessible wetlands" are anadromous fish habitat. The site is fairly flat, sloping gently to the west: The Silver Creek corridor is a 100 -year floodplain. Page 2 1 10 Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan goals and policies address consideration of 2 locational and market factors and required quantities of land; sufficient and 3 appropriately located residential, commercial, and industrial lands; increasing light 4 industrial uses along the Interstate -5 corridor; channeling growth to areas where 5 adequate services can be provided; encouraging provision of serviced industrial sites by 6 cities; ensuring adequate land supply to accommodate twenty years of growth within 7 urban areas; preventing sprawl and promoting phased development from the urban core 8 outward; distinguishing areas where final plans for urban services are not yet in place; 9 assuring that adequate capacity in public facilities exists or is projected within ten years 10 to serve the urban growth. areas; and the need to provide serviced industrial land in 11 Ferndale's Urban Growth_ Area. 12 13 11. An error in the present classification is the rural zoning inside an Urban Growth Area. 14 15 12. Changed conditions are inclusion in an Urban Growth Area;. designation as Industrial 16 and Commercial in Ferndale's Comprehensive Plan; and adoption of the Urban Fringe 17 Subarea Plan. 18 19 CONCLUSIONS 20 21 1, In view of the fact that the subject property is in Ferndale's Urban Growth Area and is 22 within the Short Term Planning Area as adopted by Whatcom County, the proposed 3 rezone appears to be appropriate. Further support for this proposal is provided by the _4 goals and policies in the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan that emphasize 25 providing adequate serviced land for industrial development. Ferndale's 26 Comprehensive Plan provides a land needs analysis to justify including this area as 27 industrial and commercial land. Future development utilizing Ferndale sewer and 28 water services will require annexation to the City of Ferndale. An area of I -5 right -of- 29 way east of the initial proposal should also be included in the General Commercial zone 30 to prevent leaving an isolated fragment of UGA with Rural zoning. 31 32 33 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that: 34 35 Section 1. The Official Whatcom County Zoning Map is hereby amended from Rural Five 36 Acres (R5A) to Light Impact Industrial (LII) for approximately 24 acres and from Rural Five 37 Acres (R5A) to General Commercial for approximately 23 acres in the Urban Fringe Subarea 38 plus an area of I -5 right -of -way east of the initial proposal in the Cherry Point - Ferndale 39 Subarea as shown on Exhibit "A" (Map) and Exhibit "B" (Assessor's Parcel Numbers). 40 41 Section 2. Adjudication of invalidity of any of the sections, clauses, or provisions of this 42 Ordinance shall not affect or impair the validity of the Ordinance as a whole or any part 43 thereof other than the part so declared to be invalid. Page 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 '3 ADOPTED this 24 ATTEST: le us7iot'; Ngstm!wwmiim.� wo ftm APPR - ED as to form day of March Karen Frakes, Civil Deputy Prosecutor i Aplann ing \rezones \01- 98zm.ord 1998. WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON R Ch it ( pproved Denied i Pete Krreemen, Executive Date - P V Page 4 0 �j 1D Ab w Exhibit "B" Assessor's parcel numbers: R5A to GC: 380203 - 048455 380203- 025442 380203 - 086420 380204 - 523443 380204 - 523463 380204 - 506443 380204- 496463 380204 - 486442 R5A to LI I 380203 - 461405 380203 - 432443 380203 - 408483 380203 - 387480 380204- 360428 380203- 355467 380204 - 298375 (north halfl