City extends moratorium into 2027 for master-planned overlays

Published 3:30 am Wednesday, July 1, 2026

Sequim city councilors agreed on June 22 to extend the six-month emergency moratorium on master-planned overlays through late January or until the City of Sequim’s Comprehensive Plan is completed.

City staff have scheduled the plan to tentatively be approved in late September or early October by the city council.

The moratorium pauses accepting, processing and approving developments, such as the proposed 600-lot Westbay project by John Wayne Marina, from proceeding through city permitting. It’s the only known project impacted by the moratorium so far.

The moratorium is extended until Jan. 26, 2027 with councilors voting 6-0 on June 22 with Pete Tjemsland excused.

Karla Boughton, Sequim’s director of community and economic development, said the extension allows staff more time to ensure future applications are compliant with the city’s Comprehensive Plan update. She said the city has made substantial work on the update with more time needed to include elements, such as the environmental review, public release of the plan, public hearings and eventual adoption.

City documents show that the work plan includes a July 13 public release of drafts for the Comprehensive Plan, Future Land Use Map, and Development Regulations.

An online open house is set for July 13-Aug. 13 with drop-in community houses on July 21 and Aug. 4 prior to Sequim Planning Commission meetings, and a developers forum on July 30.

The planning commission will hold a public hearing tentatively on Sept. 1 and make a recommendation to the city council, which will then hold a public hearing on Sept. 28.

The council might make a decision that night or deliberate again on Oct. 12, according to city staff.

Councilors can vote to rescind the moratorium prior to Jan. 26, 2027 if the Comprehensive Plan and accompanying development regulations are adopted, Boughton wrote in city documents.

The application for Westbay, proposed by Seabrook Holding Company, was deemed technically incomplete on July 21, 2025 by city staff who said in their report Westbay wasn’t a complete substantive review, but a process to identify the minimum needed to see if a full technical review can continue.

An emergency moratorium on master-planned overlay applications was proposed by city staff and voted in by city councilors on July 28, 2025 with City Attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross saying the moratorium wasn’t about Westbay’s application but ensuring Sequim’s regulations, plans and regulatory documents are consistent for a defined process for these applications.

She also said this is the city’s first master-planned overlay application and they didn’t discover issues in city processes until Westbay was proposed.

Stakeholders with Westbay and John Wayne Enterprises, which owns the site, threatened legal action and/or pulling out of the project over the moratorium.

Residents have also opposed the project publicly at council meetings and online out of concerns for water availability, traffic, the development’s lack of affordable housing, and many other issues.

Jeff Gundersen, CFO/COO for Seabrook Land Company, wrote in an email reply that they remain in a holding pattern while the city works through the Comprehensive Plan and corresponding code language updates.

“We are following those items closely and providing feedback on each item as they come up through public/development forums as well as public comment periods,” he said. “The city is making good progress on this and cleaning up a lot of code questions that will make future development proposals more straightforward.”

Gundersen said Seabrook’s staff are “still working on aspects of our proposal but the biggest items to address will be better known after the city’s next big release of Comprehensive Plan code language on July 13.”

“At that point we will be able to dig into the draft new rules we will need to follow and can provide comments and update our application,” he said.

“We are still optimistic that this will be a great neighborhood for the city and surrounding community and we are excited about the clarity the city is providing in updating their comprehensive plan and codes.”

City councilors kept comments minimal on June 22 about the moratorium with Dan Butler saying he appreciates the updated timeline and work plan and Mayor Rachel Anderson echoing the sentiment.

For more information about the moratorium, visit sequimwa.gov/1319/Emergency-Master-Plan-Overlay-Moratorium.