Where have all those housing plans gone?

Earlier this year, more than 700 housing units were proposed to be moving forward in the Port Townsend area. Now, one project has been scaled back, and others are not moving as fast as some had thought they would.

Typically, a project proponent comes forward with an idea, and City of Port Townsend staff make recommendations to ensure new development fits the existing neighborhood, said John McDonagh, senior planner with the city’s Development Services Department, in January.

The proposals have been from local people, not corporate development, said City Manager David Timmons.

“All three of these owners are wanting to do something and blend in an affordability component,” Timmons said in January, which could include workforce housing, single-family homes, rental units and/or cluster cottages.

The largest of the proposals that city staff had been contemplating in January was a 500-unit housing development that consisted of three different properties near the intersection of Discovery Road and Rainier Street.

Suzanne Tyler of Chimacum, who was behind the proposal, said July 5 that the proposal had not been canceled, but had been scaled back for now.

Tyler owns eight lots in an area north of 10th Street and west of Rainier Street. The lots are part of Rainier Place Properties LLC, according to the Washington secretary of state and Jefferson County assessor and treasurer.

She said no construction is scheduled at this time. She said 500 units represented the upper end of development, but that the number of units could be fewer for zoning or quality-of-life reasons.

“After doing some research, we decided that a project of that size would have too long of an absorption time. In other words, you can only sell so many houses in Port Townsend in a year,” Tyler said.

“Eight blocks is a lot … we need to partner with somebody in order to make that happen,” she said.

Four of the eight lots are zoned medium-density multifamily; three are zoned high-density multifamily; and one is zoned community, serving a mixed-use center, according to a parcel search.

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City regulations were not a factor in the decision, Tyler said.

“The city has been fine to work with … David [Timmons] and the city planning department has been very helpful, and this [scaling back] didn’t have anything to do with them,” she said.

A second proposal that came up for discussion in January was for 100-150 residential units near San Juan Avenue and Discovery Road in an area known as the Nomura property. That project is in the plan-review stage, Timmons said in June.

“They have been looking at various housing options to achieve some level of affordability,” he said.

A third housing proposal is for a 75-lot residential development off Cook Avenue on Elmira Street. Timmons said the developer is looking to start laying in the utilities soon.

A fourth proposal, a 20-unit “tiny house” development along San Juan Avenue, has apparently stalled, Timmons said.

The developer has not followed up with city staff, Timmons said, and so the city has no updated information on the status of that proposal.