The developer of a proposed a 40-acre $1.8 million zipline park in the foothills south of Port Angeles said Monday that he is three or four steps away from being able to open, although he can’t give details yet.

The Clallam County commissioners voted 2-1 on March 15 to uphold Clallam County hearing examiner Christopher Melly’s Dec. 23 decision granting a three-year conditional-use permit to Green Planet Inc.

Commissioner Mike Chapman of Port Angeles voted “no,” citing a lack of a comprehensive transportation plan and the development’s impact on Lake Dawn Road.

“The proponent needs a state Department of Natural Resources lease and building permit, so he’s got a few more regulatory hurdles to get over.

“I encourage people to raise these concerns at the DNR hearing and keep the issue front and center with the county,” Chapman said.

‘Trigger people’

Dan Williams, project manager and CEO of Green Planet, said he is meeting with his

“trigger people” but his board of directors has to decide on a time line for start up.

He is proposing seven ziplines, ranging from 380 to 1,586 feet, with launch platforms built in trees and one skybridge.

People would be strapped into a harness and carried down cables at speeds of up to 100 mph on land leased from the state Department of Natural Resources.

Williams said the park will take 120 days to build.

He already has a crew in Hawaii building one and another in Anchorage, Alaska, conducting studies for one.

Williams said he is expecting “pretty solid peripheral traffic” for downtown Port Angeles from people doing other things after visiting the park.

Nils Sundquist appealed the conditional-use permit because Lake Dawn Road is too primitive to accommodate the 10-person passenger vans that would make 16 trips per day during a 178-day season.

The vans would travel to the park through the Lake Dawn neighborhood – just outside Olympic National Park – and back to Port Angeles via Black Diamond Road.

Reach Brian Gawley at bgawley@sequimgazette.com.