31.02.275 Commercial and industrial land uses.
Commercial and industrial land uses in Clallam County should generally be focused into the designated urban growth areas. Land designated for commercial or industrial uses which encourage adjacent urban development shall not be located outside a UGA. Some types of commercial or industrial land uses may be appropriately located outside of urban growth areas, including those uses that are objectionable due to nuisance characteristics, size or potential for danger; uses that provide convenient service and reduce traffic demands, such as gas stations and neighborhood convenience stores; continuation of uses that were previously permitted prior to passage of the Growth Management Act; campus-style developments, such as Battelle in Sequim, that do not change the rural character of the area; and master-planned resorts with commercial components and which rely on rural or forested settings.
(1) Major commercial development should be located in urban growth areas where adequate public facilities and services exist or can be provided in an efficient manner. Regional shopping malls, large retail shopping centers, fast-food restaurants, car dealerships, financial institutions, grocery stores, and other types of uses typically found in urban areas and not in rural areas should be limited to urban growth areas.
(2) Major industrial development should be located in urban growth areas where adequate public facilities and services exist or can be provided in an efficient manner. Industrial parks, manufacturing facilities, etc. should be generally limited to urban growth areas. Those industrial uses that are objectionable due to nuisance characteristics, size or potential for danger may be located outside of urban growth areas provided that they do not encourage adjacent urban development, are largely self contained, cause no nuisance to adjacent properties (noise, dust, light, etc.) and do not require the extension of urban governmental services outward from urban growth areas, such as water and sewer. In some areas of the West End, industrial uses may be appropriate, as long as adequate facilities and services are provided.
(3) Campus-like research firms, high-tech industries or light manufacturing may be located outside urban growth areas provided that such development does not encourage adjacent urban development, is compatible with adjacent rural or resource lands, is consistent with regional or subarea plans and is served by adequate public facilities and services. In such circumstances, the projects should meet the following performance standards:
(a) Existing transportation networks serving the site are adequate to handle traffic without adversely impacting adjacent land uses. When locating in rural areas, significant increases in traffic volumes should not be expected. Occasional deliveries of materials or supplies is permitted; consistent traffic should be prohibited unless accessing directly onto Highway 101 at improved intersections.
(b) The types of light manufacturing, research facilities or corporate offices should be limited to those uses that will not cause impacts to adjoining lands from dust, noise, light and glare or other nuisances inconsistent with the need for peace and quiet in rural areas.
(c) These facilities should be located on large parcels of land (minimum of 10 to 40 acres), buffered such that buildings, parking, etc. are not readily visible from streets or adjoining properties, and self-contained with services, such as sewage and water.
(4) Small rural villages, such as Agnew, Dungeness, Carlsborg, and Beaver should continue to be encouraged where convenient services, such as gas, food, taverns, restaurants, lodging and stores would be located. The size, location and distribution of these rural villages should be determined through regional or subarea comprehensive plans. Significant historical sites should be protected within these rural villages.
(5) Commercial and industrial areas should be reasonably grouped so that it is easier and less costly in the future to develop and maintain water supply, sewage disposal, solid waste disposal, transportation, fire and police protection.
(6) Home occupations and home-based industries within urban, rural and resource areas should be encouraged if they do not significantly increase traffic, noise, odor or detract from the residential character of the surrounding area.
(7) In order to encourage development that is transit and pedestrian friendly, and does not cause unnecessary congestion and hazards with traffic along State highways, commercial and industrial development in urban growth areas should be encouraged to group together in mall-type developments with depth from the State highway rather than in a strip along the highway. These commercial and industrial areas should be served by transit stops, pedestrian systems and frontage roads when feasible.