MHT's Cascade Meadows North development given final approval by Winthrop Town Council

By Don Nelson, originally published by Methow Valley News, November 9, 2023

Winthrop OKs Two Housing Projects

The Winthrop Town Council has given final approval to two housing developments, one in private ownership and one by the Methow Housing trust.

The council acted on approval of the Housing Trust’s Cascades Meadows North planned development, which creates 24 lots for single-family homes on an 8.4-acre site. The homes will be built and sold by the Housing Trust.

The homes will be a mix of one-, two- and three-building houses.

The planned development also creates one large additional lot to accommodate a 22-unit multi-family housing development by the Housing Authority of Okanogan County. That lot will be sold to the Housing Authority.

About 37% of the planned development will be reserved as open space. As per the town’s requirements, an emergency access road connecting to Horizon Flat Road will be constructed.

The council also accepted the staff recommendation for approval of what’s known as the Strass Long Plat, proposed by Micheal Strauss and Heidi Breitbeil as a five-lot subdivision on .85 acres behind the Methow Valley Wellness Center.

Preliminary approval was granted in 2019, along with a list of conditions that needed to be met before final approval. Town Planner Rocklynn Culp said all required conditions have been meet.

According to the staff report, “Typically, construction does not happen until the lots are created but because the property is zoned B-3 and the proposed use was overnight rentals, the applicant was permitted to construct on the property prior to the plat being finalized.”

In other business, the council adopted the 1% increase in the local property tax levy that is allowed each year under state law. That will result in an increase of $2,237 in local property tax collections in 2024.