Housing development to start in Ephrata

Will contain 750 lots, parks, trails

EPHRATA - The Ephrata City Council approved an agreement allowing 750 new houses to be built during the next 12 years.

Coyote Investments and the city agreed, after a year and a half of negotiations, to move forward on a residential development on Dodson Road. The development will cover 318 acres to be done in eight phases.

While the land could hold more than 1,500 new lots, the development company is only planning to work on 750.

"This is at maximum, less than half," City Administrator Wes Crago said. "The process by which we've been proceeding is a development agreement, which is a contract between the developers and the city that stipulates to certain allowances for the code … Certain things are granted by both sides, the city gives allowance and gets things in return."

Those allowances include building a semi-commercial community center, the ability to build a few narrow roads and a recreational vehicle parking lot. In exchange the company will split the cost of installing a 12-inch water main and set aside twice the required amount of land for parks. The parks include one 16-acre park, a 3-mile walking trail and 18 one-acre parks. The company also needs to construct a traffic light at the intersection of Dodson Road and state Route 283. The city agreed to help the company get a permit from the state Department of Ecology to use wastewater for irrigation.

"The staff believes that it is a very equitable agreement," Crago said. "Both sides are fairly represented. What we give is less than what we will get out of it at the end of the project."

Tom Wells, a partner in Coyote Investments, said this was a milestone day for the city. Along with the benefits of the project, he said the project will also provide construction jobs for the next decade.

"During construction, there will be substantial revenue for the city for building permits (and) related fees for construction," Wells said. "Home sales will certainly generate commission revenue for local real estate agents. There will be ongoing service work and property management for local business."

Councilmember Bruce Reim asked whether the current economic situation would change the company's plans.

"There's not enough time this evening to talk about capital markets, but sufficed to say we've seen that coming, it's in our timeline, it's in our plan," Wells said. "I'm not surprised that this has gone to where it has gone. There's not doubt in my mind that the underlying economy is sound, especially in this state and I think in this area."

The first phase includes about 65 lots and could be ready to start within a year.

"We're anxious to get started, we obviously got some work to do," said Art Day, a partner in the company.