Grayland franchise battle drags on

By Erika Gebhardt The Daily World • May 5, 2022 1:30 am
A proposed Dollar General location at 2172 State Road 105 in Grayland has residents concerned that the big box store would negatively impact the area’s wetlands and small-town aesthetics. The building would be 10,640 square feet and includes 30 proposed parking spots that some residents believe would lead increased flooding in the area. Erika Gebhardt I The Daily World
A proposed Dollar General location at 2172 State Road 105 in Grayland has residents concerned that the big box store would negatively impact the area’s wetlands and small-town aesthetics. The building would be 10,640 square feet and includes 30 proposed parking spots that some residents believe would lead increased flooding in the area. Erika Gebhardt I The Daily World

A group of Grayland residents concerned with a proposed Dollar General location in their town will not find relief any time soon.

During an April 25 special meeting, the Grays Harbor Board of Adjustment (BOA) voted to postpone a long-awaited vote on two variance zoning requests needed for the construction of the franchise on Washington State Route 105. The board will readdress the two requests at their June 13 regular meeting.

“We were supposed to conclude the public hearing with a decision, but the BOA voted to postpone the public hearing to allow for public testimony that was received to be reviewed by them. At this time, the variances are neither approved nor denied,” said Suresh Bhagavan, ​​Grays Harbor County Planning Division Planning and Building Director.

The postponement follows a March 14 BOA meeting, in which the board did not vote on the two variance requests.

The new Dollar General project, known as Grayland General Retail, has been proposed by Woodcrest Real Estate Ventures of California. The proposal is to construct an approximately 10,640-square-foot building located at 2172 State Road 105.

The project, however, requires two zoning law variances requests in order to proceed. The first is an exception to place an impermeable barrier over 0.51 acres of identified wetland buffer. The second request is to build to within 10 feet of the southern boundary instead of the required 28 feet.

As an unincorporated community, decisions regarding planning and permitting in Grayland are deferred to the county. Public comment will be reopened again in advance of the June 13 meeting.

According to Grayland resident Catherine “Kitty” Bryan, residents will continue to voice their opposition to the project throughout the public comment period. A group of Bryan and her peers met on Monday, May 2, to draft a new petition against the proposed franchise location, citing what they believe are environmental and aesthetic impacts to their sleepy beach town.

“The first petition gathered 110 signatures in a day and a half; 99 were ‘Local’. The new one will be expanded to include what we have learned these past few months,” said Bryan in an email.