One of developer’s two projects moving forward

A company has two housing projects in Oak Harbor that have both taken longer than expected to complete.

One of the projects is on approximately 3.27 acres on Scenic Heights Road and was approved by the city council back in November 2019. At a recent meeting, the council approved a development agreement between the city and Pacific North Group Inc. to build 11 homes on the property in one phase. Construction has already started.

The company also began another development known as the Hillside development, located above Walmart, that is planned to have 192 single-family lots. The News-Times reported in May 2021 that the area was cleared of trees and that Scott Thompson, governor of Pacific North Group, said construction would begin that summer. Almost two years later, construction on the hillside has not yet begun.

During the recent council meeting, Development Services Director David Kuhl explained that the Scenic Heights residential development will be developed in one phase, meaning all infrastructure and homes will be built at the same time.

“This is a steep site, and they’ll be building retaining walls and foundation walls for the houses,” Kuhl said, adding that the retaining walls will support roads and keep the waterfront slope stable.

A couple of residents spoke at the meeting to voice their concerns about the development.

Ken Hewlett, a Scenic Heights resident, spoke at the meeting to ask the council why the project was “being treated differently than every other project that has been developed in my memory.”

He referred to the construction being done in only one phase and said he was concerned there was not enough focus on the infrastructure, the steepness of the site and the complexities of building on such terrain.

Kuhl responded that the only way to complete the infrastructure was to also complete the houses at the same time, hence construction being completed in one phase.

Hewlett then brought up the fact that Councilmember Dan Evans works for the Pacific North Group Inc.

“I’m a little concerned that there are people sitting at the dais that may have a conflict of interest in this situation,” Hewlett said, before adding that council members who recused themselves from a vote in the past also left the room while discussion was taking place.

Evans remained in the room but said that he was going to abstain from the vote after having a conversation with the city attorney. He also said he would like to bring up council rules in regard to conflicts of interest at a later date “for clarification.”

Another Scenic Heights resident, Jeff Anielski, said he lived on a property south of the development and that he was concerned about the length of the project.

“What we have seen now, so far over the pace of the last year, is a snail pace of construction,” he said.

Thompson was present at the meeting and said there were two significant delays on the project. He said the first was the prohibition on residential construction from the governor’s office during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing the project to lose about eight months.

“We had momentum last year, right up to the point where we found a 3,500-year-old body on the project and that took about another eight months to properly clean up and omit that situation with the tribes,” Thompson said.

He said he lost about 16 months overall on the project, but the goal is to finish the development by this summer.

Councilmember Shane Hoffmire asked Kuhl if he felt the city was making it easier for developers to build in the city.

“This development agreement will be a better tool, I think, for the city, as well as for the developer, as well as for anyone else, because it establishes the timing and the phasing of all the improvements,” Kuhl said.

The resolution was approved unanimously by the city council with Evans abstaining.

Kuhl told the council that the development agreement for the Scenic Heights project was nearly identical to the agreement for the Hillside project. He said both developments were similar because they were challenging engineering-wise.

There appears to be no construction at the Hillside development yet, but a crane could be seen moving rocks recently. According to the city of Oak Harbor, civil plans and permits for the project have been approved. Thompson did not respond to an inquiry from the News-Times about the status of the project or when it will be completed.