Developers Will Use Time to Gather More Data to Share
By Dennis Rahm
Developers of the proposed Holiday Hills project have announced that a community meeting originally planned for June 13 has been postponed and rescheduled for Monday, July 23rd. The controversial large-scale development proposed on the lower slope of Chelan Butte is currently under review by the City of Chelan.
The project site covers just under 85 acres and proposes 250 lots of Multi-Family and Tourist Accommodation (TA) development to include 173 townhomes of which each building may consist of between two and six units, five multi-family apartment buildings, 28 single-family units in the upper portion of the development, 27 lots earmarked for short-term rentals or single-family housing and 15 Tourist Accommodation parcels with identified uses of a hotel, restaurant, condos and commercial retail space.
The project developer is Palisade Capital Holdings and John McCreary. The original community meeting had been scheduled for Wednesday at the Senior Center, but developers recently sent out notices saying the revised meeting date would be July 23rd. from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Campbells.
Holiday Hills is proposed as a three-phase development. Phase one would include 73 townhomes, a 105 room resort hotel, a 6,200 square foot restaurant and approximately 18,000 square feet of specialty retail space. The TA portion of the development is proposing secondary access via Waterslide Drive while the townhome section would access via Park Street.
Photo taken last fall shows approximate development boundaries
During two public comment periods established by the City, nearly 60 letters were submitted by residents detailing areas of concern with the project. Of the 57 comments reviewed via public records access, 44 were against the development, 10 were concerned or very concerned, two cited legal concerns and one was in favor of the project. Some of the issues raised have included soil contamination concerns, traffic flow issues, fire protection in a known wildland fire area, erosion concerns, availability of utilities and the possible need of an additional substation and property ingress and egress.
The City of Chelan, as the lead SEPA agency on the project, has reviewed the project for probable adverse environmental impacts and intends to put forth a Determination of Non-Significance (DNS) which many in the community disagree with. The City Planning Department has requested more information from the developers on several topics, including an updated Traffic Impact Study. In a letter from the City to the developers last November, it was stated that the information would be needed in order to continue processing the subdivision request.
The Holiday Hills Community meeting on July 23rd will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Campbell’s Resort. As the project moves through the City review process, members of the Holiday Hills project team will share the direction of the proposed development and allow time to answer questions and obtain feedback from the Community during the community meeting.
In their invitation notice, the developer points out the meeting is not a public hearing and not sponsored by the City of Chelan. It is informational only and not a part of the public review process.
