By Pepper Fisher

SEQUIM – Pending permit approvals, it looks like a Seabrook-style housing development is coming to the 160-acre site next to the John Wayne Marina in Sequim.

Casey Roloff, the man behind the seaside village on Washington’s coast, says his company has made a “very significant” deposit on the property, and the deal is under contract with the heirs of John Wayne, the current owners of the property.

Roloff says the model for the new development will be very much like Seabrook.

“The way we design and build isn’t specific to accommodating vacation rentals or accommodating full-time residents. The way we design and build has more to do with urban planning principles that promote walkability, having shops, restaurants and amenities all within walking or easy biking distance from someone’s residence. You know, I think sometimes people think Seabrook has more to do with the architecture, but actually the architecture is much less important than the land planning, which is, again, designing that walkable footprint.”

He says when you include these kinds of amenities, it cuts back on car trips by 60%. And unlike Seabrook, where only about 15% of the homeowners are fulltime residents because of its remote location, he expects that number at the Sequim property to be more like 70+%.

Roloff says they aren’t planning to build a marina on the property. He sees the beachfront as being a place to sunbathe and swim in the shallow water when the weather is warm. That said, Port of Port Angeles officials have been looking for someone to take over the management of the John Wayne Marina for years, and Roloff says that’s something they would consider doing.

The company hosted a couple of meet-and-greets at the marina last month, and one of the concerns some people had was the issue of increased traffic on Highway 101.

“One of the things that we’re going to be, when we start to speak with the Department of Transportation, is that we’d really like to see a roundabout at Whitefeather. We’re going to be encouraging all of our residents and any guests to come in on Whitefeather and to leave on Whitefeather. And the roundabout would make them even want to do that more because it’s a safer way to get onto the highway. Though I think there is some resistance, some people don’t like roundabouts, they’re not comfortable driving through a roundabout. But the more you use it, the more comfortable people feel using a roundabout, and it will, again, make it a lot safer at that intersection.”

Roloff wanted to let area residents know that one of his company’s core values is building and maintaining strong relationships with the community.

“We want to make sure that we have strong relationships with our neighbors, just like we have out here in Grays Harbor. We keep open lines of communication, and if there’s ever any kind of challenge, we get together and sit face-to-face and come up with a resolution. So, we’ve been doing this for 30 years, and we practice what we preach. And hopefully the community will see that. That we aren’t some fly-by-night developer with a big idea that’s never done it before. We like to describe ourselves mostly as place makers. We like to create places that people want to hang out and spend time, and we hope that local residents will want to spend time in our new community on Sequim Bay.”

As for the timeline for beginning construction, Roloff says it’s probably six to nine months out before he would expect to have permit approvals from the City of Sequim and other agencies, depending on how busy they all are.