UPDATE: An open house about the development will be hosted by Catholic Charities on Thursday, Feb. 6 from 4-6 pm at Twispworks.
Twisp Planning Commission recommended approval of a project by Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington (CCEW) to build 78 units of apartments behind Hank’s, currently referred to as Twisp Family Haven.
Planning Commission Co-Chair Arthur Tasker said public comments are closed and final approval will be with the Twisp Town Council. He said individuals can contact town council members, but the council has to base their decision on the findings of the planning commission.
“They have to make their decision based on what we’re giving them, on record,” said Tasker.
Twisp Town Planner Thom Vetter said he doesn’t expect any issues that would prevent this project from passing the Town Council.
In a 5-0 decision, the planning commission approved the project on Wednesday with conditions: the roofs for the three story buildings must have snow breaks to reduce the chances of snow hitting pedestrians; the builders must work with an archaeologist or native tribes with regard to any culturally significant artifacts that may be found on the site; there must be a second egress for emergencies that is not used for snow storage; the ingress/egress to Highway 20 is removed in favor of Twisp Carlton Road; and five feet along the perimeter of the building must not have any vegetation or materials that are combustible.
Catholic Charities said they will be using fire resistant hardiplank siding on the exterior of the buildings. They also said they typically have an archaeologist on-call if a culturally significant artifact is found.
The charity also said they are experienced working with arsenic in soils and will work with their engineers to make sure everything is done to Department of Ecology standards. Tasker commented that is better than what is in the orchards right now.
Josh Goudge, Development Manager of Inland Group in Spokane, which is working on behalf of Catholic Charities, said they have increased plans for parking in the affordable housing buildings from 1.4 parking spaces per unit to 1.6. Market rate units will have two spaces per unit.
Goudge said the emergency egress, also onto Twisp-Carlton Road, will have an open gate and be made of gravel to discourage regular use.
In response to neighbor Dave Schulz’ concerns, the building plan was re-oriented to be 25-30 feet farther from his property.
The hearing room was full Wednesday night with community members for and against the project. Several Winthrop luminaries, such as Winthrop Planning Commissioner and RiversMeet mixed-use project developer Peter Goldman and Winthrop Town Planner and Twisp resident Rocklynn Culp, expressed support for the project to avoid rural sprawl.
“I think we need to get to yes somehow,” said Goldman. Referring to concerns about the project, he said, “These concerns pale in comparison to the housing crisis.”
Some residents acknowledged the need for affordable housing but expressed concern about the height of the building- 37 feet. Current code allows only 30 feet in height.
Catholic Charities responded that they could build three stories within 30 feet, but it would be a flat roof, not a pitched one. During their deliberations, Tasker said he did not want a Soviet-style building in Twisp, and the rest of the commissioners agreed that the extra seven feet wasn’t a big issue for them.
“I would rather see something that looks better than a big, rectangular box,” said Tasker.
Commissioner Mike Bastian said, “I don’t see it much different from the look and feel of the town.”
Several residents expressed concern about the concept of growth begetting growth, but most concluded that change is inevitable.
Carolanne Steinebach, who worked with Catholic Charities on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, said she was “shocked” that the number of units went from 48 to 72 and said people on egress should have been notified in advance, but still expressed support for the project.
“Please say yes to this program. Perhaps it could be phased with 48 units. If there hasn’t been a huge disruption, then go to the second phase.” said Steinebach.
“Change is inevitable, like death and taxes,” she added.
Matt Kilbourne, VP of Asset Management and Development for CCEW, said the waiting list for Catholic Charities’ other housing in the area is 75 people, 80% of whom have an address in Methow Valley. At their current vacancy rate, it would take 11 years for everyone on the wait list to receive housing.
It is unclear if there is overlap with other housing waitlists in the county, including Okanogan County Community Action Council, Okanogan County Housing Authority, Methow Trust and Room One. That study hasn’t been done, said Vetter.
When asked if Catholic Charities would prioritize those already on the wait-list, Kilbourne said they would open a waiting list 180 days in advance, but those on the current wait list would have to apply on their own.
Planning Commissioner Anna Rose said the affordable housing units would serve people within 30 to 50 percent of area median income, which would be in the $20k-$40k income bracket.
Kilbourne said the market rate apartments would probably serve people in the 60 to 80 percent of area median income and the maximum they could charge is $1300-$1400/month, without specifying size of the units.
Several community members noted that housing would be available to anyone that applied, not necessarily to people in the valley. There is no requirement for Catholic Charities to prioritize valley residents who lack affordable housing.
Twisp Public Works Director Andrew Denham said the town has invested millions on infrastructure to account for growth, such as building a new sewage treatment plant.
“Infrastructure-wise, I feel confident we can account for this growth and additional growth,” said Denham.
Kilbourne said Catholic Charities will apply for a property tax exemption for affordable housing, meaning the town would only receive sales taxes from new residences. Should they decide to build 24 units of market rate apartments in Phase 2, Catholic Charities would pay property taxes for that building.
One community member complained about three abandoned vehicles that stood in front of Catholic Charities’ existing project in Twisp in addition to deferred maintenance in the buildings. Kilbourne said Catholic Charities inherited that housing after a merger. Building Twisp Family Haven would allow a property manager in the valley as opposed to one splitting a 40 mile radius.
During deliberations, Tasker asked the other council members if this would be a good develoment for Twisp. Co-chair Rachel Levi responded, “That’s interesting,” before adding this was beyond the scope of consideration for the planning commission.
Just before the unanimous vote, Tasker repeated his refrain from the first hearing on the development, “If not this, then what?”