How can your neighborhood be better informed about development projects?

Often the first time that a person is aware that a development project is proposed in their neighborhood is a notice provided by the county. This has the potential of causing a negative reaction by residents that could have been avoided if earlier, and less formal, information were made available.

Douglas County encourages applicants for larger scale development, such as plats, conditional uses, multifamily projects, etc., to contact neighboring residents and describe their proposal. There is no documentation whether these occur, although it is likely that few do.

Several cities and counties in Washington State require applicants of projects that are larger in scale and/or scope to conduct neighborhood meetings. The meetings are arranged for and conducted by the applicants without involvement by the city or county. The meetings are required to be held before a formal application is accepted as complete.

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners is considering a proposal to require applicants for certain types of development projects to first communicate with the neighbors of a project before an application is filed with the county.

A draft amendment to the county code has been prepared and input is now being gathered before a decision is made whether to adopt the concept of required neighborhood meetings.

Would you like more information?

The draft code is available by clicking on the “Draft Code” link to the upper left.

An open house and public information meeting will be held from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM on Tuesday, August 7, 2007. This information session will be held in the Hearing Room of the Douglas County Public Services Building, 140 19th Street NW, East Wenatchee.

Written comments may be mailed to:

Planning Director
Douglas Co. Trans. & Land Services
140 19th Street NW, Suite A
East Wenatchee, WA 98802-4191

Applicant-sponsored meetings can help neighborhoods and applicants better understand each other’s issues and needs.