A plan for a hotly debated 20-home development in the Edgecliff neighborhood of Langley has resurfaced.

More than four years after receiving a controversial approval from the city council, Langley Passage is again on its way to becoming a reality.

Director of Community Planning Michael Davolio told the council at the July 20 meeting he had received an application for a clearing and grading permit on July 6 from the property’s developer, Whidbey Neighborhood Partners. The paperwork and some subsequent meetings signal new life in a long-dormant project once mired in criticism and threats of legal action.

Reached by phone Tuesday morning, managing partner Gary Roth said the development group waited for the housing market to recover, and he felt that now was a lucrative time to build.

“Now that it’s on the upturn we feel the timing is right and more lots are needed,” Roth said.

“We’ve been very willing to cooperate with the surrounding neighborhood and the city,” he added.

The project has a long, contentious history. The city council initially and unanimously rejected the proposed development years ago, but further meetings between the city and developer led to revised terms and a list of 35 conditions of approval, which were approved in April 2011. Only one council member, Rene Neff, is still serving from the group that green lighted the preliminary plat.

“This was a tough, tough project to get approved,” said Davolio, who was not employed by the city at the time of the project’s approval.

Opponents criticized the project because of concerns that added development would lead to more stormwater and runoff to the Edgecliff bluff. The Langley Critical Area Alliance, a group of residents committed to preserving critical areas such as the wetlands in the area and the bluff, vehemently opposed the project. Members of the alliance claimed the development was too much for such a sensitive area and worried over bluff erosion.

“The conditions were all meant to address the problems with the critical areas, namely the wetlands and the bluff,” said Gail Fleming, a member of the alliance who is now an appointed Langley Planning Advisory Board member.

“We’re watching it closely,” she added, reading from a prepared statement Tuesday morning. “Mr. Davolio has assured us that all 35 conditions and their accompanying actions will be fulfilled in the timeline prescribed by the council.”

An independent expert hired by the city determined that the bluff erosion was largely caused by waves, and not from runoff.

As a means of avoiding potential argument over the finding, the city and developer agreed to have sewer lines extended and a water line moved away from a wetland buffer. As was previously agreed to in 2011, the new single-family residences will hook up to a sewer line that will be paid for by the developer.

Current zoning allows for the development’s lots to be up to 15,000 square feet, but Davolio said they will more likely be 7,200 square feet. The lots are 70 by 125 feet, Roth said, and the two- and three-bedroom homes will be between 1,600 square feet and 2,500 square feet. The property itself is about 7.5 acres.

One of the conditions was that no more than 2,500 square feet of each lot be impervious. That will limit the size and composition of driveways, patios and will likely restrict private pools, for example, from being built. The condition helps mitigate stormwater runoff by allowing the water to seep into the ground.

Following the approval years ago, Councilwoman Neff urged caution to the staff at the council’s recent meeting. She said the process needed to be slow and thorough.

“Be very careful,” she said.

Davolio said the project had another three years before losing its preliminary plat approval, per state law.

In a memo to the council, Davolio said city staff will meet with the applicants to review those conditions of approval to “ensure that the conditions are met in a timely manner.”

The application for grading and utilities was reviewed by the city engineer, a position that is contracted through PACE Engineering. It was already returned to the developer with input from the engineer, Davolio said.

“We just met with the developer today and gave him those redline drawings and the engineer’s comments,” he said.

After staff review of the design at “every step during the construction process,” final plat application approval will be up to the Planning Advisory Board and city council.

On Monday afternoon, Mayor Fred McCarthy said the project has a long way to go before it receives a final stamp of approval.

“This is not a done deal by any means,” he said.

Lots within the development may not be sold, according to Davolio’s memo, until the roads and utilities have been installed and approved.

“This will get lots of review,” McCarthy told the council at the July 20 meeting.