Planning commissioner wants to define ‘public interest’ in a growing Sequim

SEQUIM – The words are slippery as young salmon, but Sequim Planning Commissioner Mark Ozias hopes to get his arms around them.

“The public interest shall be served by the proposal,” reads one of the criteria in the subdivisions chapter of the Sequim Municipal Code.

That “public interest” clause recurs throughout city planning documents.

The City Council and advisory Planning Commission are, of course, supposed to be guardians of the public interest.

“The problem,” said Planning Commission chairman Larry Freedman, “is that there’s no definition.” 

The search for defining moments may begin tonight, with Ozias leading the way.

Planning Commissioner Susan Lorenzen, for one, is eager to get started.

Far too many developments, she said, win City Council approval despite what she sees as clear violations of the public interest.

“We’ve run amok with projects. The decisions have not been wise,” said Lorenzen, a homemaker who’s served on the Planning Commission since late 2005.