New engineer welcomed, mapping error for The Lookout amended

CHELAN - For the second straight Chelan City Council meeting, the council wrapped up their regular business in under an hour, as they wait for a final recommendation from the Planning Commission regarding the Comprehensive Plan.

Before the council moved into their agenda on Tuesday, July 11 they introduced  Jake Youngren, who was recently hired as the city engineer with the “intent purpose” of replacing Public Works Director Dwayne Van Epps when he eventually retires.

“Jake worked for Villa and Associates - who have done work for the city in the past - so we are very fortunate to have him on board,” Van Epps motioned toward Jake. “We have plenty of work to do and I think he’ll serve the city well into the future.”

The Council then shifted toward The Lookout development, as Planning Director Craig Gildroy requested an amendment to insert a barn and winery district in the zoning.

“The Lookout met with staff about proposed cottage housing and unfortunately a winery district doesn’t allow cottage housing,” Gildroy explained. “The area being adjusted is about six of the total 90 acres. Going from a winery to barn district will allow cottage housing.”

Gildroy stated the residences wouldn’t necessarily just be single family, but overall density can not increase the number of dwellings with a change. Council approved the motion with councilmembers Erin McCardle and Servando Robledo both recusing themselves.

Parks and Recreation Director Karen Sargeant closed the meeting by proposing a new contract for the Sailing Association with the city that runs through December 2018.

“This is something that I have been working on since last year, and meeting with the Sailing Association has been productive,” Sargeant said. “We are going to allow them to have another sail boat slip (since) it is in an area that is not occupied by anything from the Parks Department. The other thing is to allow them to keep the sail boats on the bumper pads, so we’ll have a year and a half to come up with ideas and solutions to fix some of the issues. It also reduces the amount of storage to allow more storage for the Parks Department.”

Council approved and signed the agreement.

The Planning Commission is still working through the comprehensive plan and have not yet made their recommendation to council. Once they do, council will begin debating the plan and schedule a public hearing.

The next council meeting is on Tuesday, July 25 at 6 p.m.

Zach Johnson can be reached at lcmeditor@gmail.com or (509) 682-2213