SEQUIM — The City Council has approved making several small changes to zoning regulations affecting downtown.
Chris Hugo, Sequim city director of community development, said he and other city officials involved in city planning would bring back revisions for the council’s final approval in the next three to four months.
Council members discussed the proposals at length Monday night.
“They are all kind of loosely related,” Hugo said of the proposed amendments he brought to the council.
A defect in the zoning ordinance inadvertently opened up downtown to all conceivable land uses, including heavy industry and potentially hazardous activities, he said.
The council also approved a proposed minor adjustment in multiple-unit-zone uses and the elimination of the planned unit development chapter in the ordinance.
“More important to the council was addressing the character of commercial strip,” Hugo said.
He added that moving building footprints to the street with parking in the rear, a pedestrian entrance at the street and the general character of future commercial buildings should be considered.
Hugo said the mixed-use zone “is way too large” in Sequim, mainly developed between Seventh Avenue and River Road’s “big-box” store district.
Finding a zoning mix that fits Sequim’s character is what Hugo said he hopes the city can achieve.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
