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About 600 new houses may be added to 1,120 largely sagebrush-covered acres south of Richland near where about 300 homes already sit.
Before the homes can be built -- or even considered -- Benton County commissioners will need to give final approval to a proposed amendment to the county's comprehensive plan allowing the smaller rural residential lots.
County commissioners voted 2-1 earlier this week, with Commissioner Max Benitz against, in favor of a request from John Sullins to allow higher-density residential development on land southwest of the Interstate 82 and Badger Road interchange. The site is near the Cottonwood Springs development in Badger Canyon and outside Richland's urban growth area.
The commissioners should make a final decision on the amendment Monday.
Sullins' proposal would allow dozens of landowners to build homes on one-acre lots. Current density regulations require rural homes to be built on five-acre lots.
"It would allow a higher density of homes," said Commissioner Leo Bowman. "At the same time, it wouldn't eliminate the rural area."
Benitz disagreed.
"It's not compatible with the current surrounding units and it's outside the urban growth area," he said.
Benitz said the proposed designation also could violate the state's Growth Management Act, and said a lawsuit may follow. "There is that very strong potential," he said.
However, a state Supreme Court decision in August involving Thurston County said individual counties should be able to determine rural densities, not growth management hearings boards.
Thayne Wiser, an agribusinessman who owns hundreds of acres inside the proposal area, said demand is high for one-acre properties. He also contended the land -- flanked by sagebrush-covered hills and light pole-free -- is rural by nature.
"I would say drive out there and take a look," Wiser said in response to those who say the denser housing developments would cause the area to lose its rural appeal.
If the request is approved by the commissioners, Wiser said development plans should be sent to the Benton County Planning Commission within 90 days.
About 300 houses now exist inside the 1,120 acres, including Cottonwood Springs, which features one-acre properties.
Wiser said as many as 600 additional homes could be built in the area, along with a proposed school, businesses and churches.
"It's clear the public wants this," he said. "We're sold out all the time while others are not."
The Benton County Planning Commission voted against recommending the change to allow rural development on one-acre lots, saying it wouldn't be "rural in character." But the commission offered a compromise of recommending one house per 2.5 acres.
Benitz said he also would not support that compromise. Wiser said 2.5-acre properties are too large for most families to maintain, adding, "Two and a half acres have their place, but probably not in that area."
