County set to review cluster zone, comprehensive plans Jan. 4

The Whitman County planning department is seeking to update the county's comprehensive plan and cluster residential code.

The proposed changes are available for viewing on Whitman County's website, and a public hearing on the changes has been scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 7 p.m. The meeting will be in the Public Service Building in Colfax.

Alan Thomson, county planner, said the changes are meant to “clarify and simplify the code.” He also noted the changes are not in regard to the county's tax-sharing agreement with Pullman, which actually disallows construction of more cluster developments within Pullman.

A cluster zone allows for multi-dwelling development, with a required minimum of 20 acres consisting of four lots.

According to a legal notice, the planning department is considering changes to setback requirements in regard to land adjacent to cluster developments. The proposed changes detail that the setback requirement is 20 feet on all sides when adjacent to other cluster developments, and the proposed change has it at 20 feet on the rear and sides. The changes propose for the setback when adjacent to county roads or highways to be 100 feet. When a cluster is not adjacent to another cluster, the proposed setback is 200 feet.

The changes to the cluster code also include height specifications.

“Buildings and structures located on hills or ridges shall be sited and/or constructed to minimize the appearance of a silhouette against the sky,” the document states. “No part of the living space of a structure shall be higher than the highest part of the landform on which it will be built.”

Katrin Kunz, assistant county planner, said the changes will apply to all cluster developments in the county. Most of those, she said, are in Pullman.

The changes take out the requirements for an area to be considered eligible for approval as a cluster residential district and again defines height requirements for clusters.

The tax-sharing agreement with Pullman, which has now been in effect for one year, made it so that 80 percent of the land previously eligible for cluster developments is now barred from the conversion.

The proposed changes are available at http://www.whitmancounty.org under the public works planning tab.