PORT ANGELES — The public has until mid-January to comment on a proposed Clallam County ordinance that would govern the law around the use of recreational vehicles as homes.
The three county commissioners voted Tuesday to extend the written public comment period to Jan. 20 for the county’s recreational vehicles (RVs) ordinance during their regular meeting, which also saw them approve the resolutions to authorize property tax levies for 2026.
The decision to postpone taking action on the ordinance came after county Director of Community Development Bruce Emery made recommendations to make changes to it during the commissioners’ work session Monday.
“I think we discussed, No. 1, a few policy-level changes that we were interested in, and one of those is removing the 180-day limit on allowing RVs to be occupied,” Commissioner Mike French said. “The other was allowing two RVs to be visible instead of one with only one of them occupied and potentially allowing a second occupied RV as a conditional use.”
During the public comment period, several people took the opportunity to speak against the RV ordinance, including Clallam County resident Chris Nicklaus, who said he carefully built an RV area on his property that includes proper drainage, fencing and a retaining wall in order to provide a safe, clean, affordable space for essential workers and travelers to the county.
“I’ve hosted traveling nurses for OMC,” Nicklaus said. “I’m currently hosting the general foreman that’s doing work on (U.S. Highway) 101 for the bridge project.”
Providing this housing option on his property helps provide more income for his family, Nicklaus said.
“Private RV sites on rural properties are one of the last frontiers, I believe, of safe and affordable housing for Clallam County,” he said. “I’m not asking for unrestricted RV use, but I’m asking for a balanced approach that does not punish people doing it right.”
After the public comment period, French took a moment to address some comments, including one suggestion that the county “scrap” the entire ordinance.
“I wanted to point out why I don’t think that’s a wise thing to do,” he said. “That’s because our current code isn’t good either. Our current code limits RV usage to 90 days. And so, I think it’s really wise for us to go through this process, even though it’s bumpy and painful. We need a code that makes sense, that provides all of those basic boundaries and meets the needs and fits better with reality in the living experience with people on the street.”
Commissioners then conducted a public hearing on resolutions to set the tax levies for 2026.
State law allows the county to raise its property tax levy amount by no more than 1 percent, and the county has three property levies, Chief Financial Officer Mark Lane said.
The county has a General Purpose levy which supports the general fund, the Veterans Fund, Land Assessment Fund and Developmental Disabilities Fund, as well as a Roads Fund levy and a Conservation Futures fund levy.
Property taxes provide a good portion of the county’s revenue, Lane said, funding 21.7 percent of the General Fund, 38.9 percent of the Veterans Fund, 58.3 percent of the Land Assessment Fund, 10.2 percent of the Developmental Disabilities Fund, 39.5 percent of the Roads Fund and 80.2 percent of the Conservation Futures Fund.
Lane requested the commissioners approve resolutions to authorize a 1 percent levy increase for the General Purpose levy and for the Roads Fund levy while the resolution for the Conservation Futures fund levy did not have an increase.
“So we are limited to collecting only 1 percent in greater tax of the overall tax of the county,” Lane said. “So, when your assessed values increase by greater than 1 percent, your levy rate actually drops correspondingly as a result, so the amount that’s collected is only, in theory, 1 percent.”
The increase will amount to $126,331.47 more for the General Purpose levy and $85,029.53 more for the Roads Fund levy. The Conservation Futures fund will only see an increase in revenue if there is new construction and refunds reported by the assessor and treasurer.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
