LIMITED AREAS OF MORE INTENSIVE RURAL DEVELOPMENT (LAMIRD)
DCC has filed a Petition with the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board for a Hearing regarding Clallam County development of 46 separate and distinct LAMIRD areas scattered throughout Clallam County.
DCC has particular interest in two LAMIRD’s located within our Dry Creek community boundaries. It is our contention that Clallam County did not properly calculate and then limit the size of LAMIRD’S, but in lieu of proper designation process, used the previously designated “More Intensive Rural Lands for LAMIRD boundaries. Additionally, the County did not establish the LAMIRD’S on a one time basis, in 1997, per Growth Management Act (GMA) requirements. We contend that this designation was required to have been done on a one time only basis, in July 1997 or a resonable time thereafter. Clallam County ignored that requirement of State law. Our petition was joined with a similar petition initiated by FutureWise of Seattle, a non-profit organization which advocates preservation of rural areas of Washington State.
The map of two LAMIRD areas within our Dry Creek Community is shown on these Clallam County maps. DCC_LaridLAMIRD.pdf. The County contends that the Laird’s West LAMIRD should contain 29.28 acres, zoned RNC (Rural Neighborhood Commercial) proper calculation per GMA standards would reduce that area to 0.76 acres. In effect DCC contends that Clallam County is banking property for more industrial development in our rural/residential community. The Laird’s East LAMIRD contains 122.7 acres of land which includes property of Interfor Pacific mill, Alpine auto wrecking, Tribal center and a new property, the RNC (Rural Neighborhood Commercial) zoned Tribal property across Dry Creek Road (previous Adventures Through Kayaking site). This area spans a road (Dry Creek Road) a fact violating definition of LAMIRD’s per GMA criteria. Clallam County Commissioners (BOCC) accepted testimony regarding their development of Ordinance 827, which set up LAMIRD’s in Clallam County. DCC made three separate testimonies, to be added later, and our legal counsel filed testimony in your behalf in a fourth testimony, taking exception to location and size of the two LAMIRD’s in our community. BOCC passed the LAMIRD Ordinance 827 in late Setptember 2007. That Ordinance is now included in the Comprehensive Plan, shown in this reference.LAMIRDDEFCOMPPLAN.doc. Noetworthy is that fact that current RLC and RNC zoning in Laird’s East and Laird’s West could allow motocross tracks, other off-road vehicle uses, outdoor sound stages and their uses that are far too noisy to be allowed adjacent to RCC3, Rural Character zoning A final issue is the fact that the BOCC LAMIRD Ordinance 827 proposed three situations in which LAMIRDs may be increased in size in the future, despite the fact that this would violate State Law, RCW36.70A.070( 5)(d). Thus, Interfor Pacific could expand its mill site, indefinitely with County approval. The Growth Management Act (GMA) was initially developed to control urban sprawl and dictated that industrial activities would be established within Urban Growth Area (UGA) areas. The Interfor Mill violates that law in its intent, but Clallam County Zoning allows wood working facilities within RLC zoning, despite the fact that our Comprehensive Plan requires that all RLC activities have properties of low-impactupon rural character land. IS THIS A MESS OR JUST A PRODUCT OF STUPIDITY