Soap Lake considers annexation, development needs
R. HANS MILLER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years AGO
As Soap Lake continues to grow the city’s administration is looking to ensure planning is taken care of to accommodate the growth within state guidelines.
File photo
Managing Editor Rob Miller is a 4-year U.S. Army veteran who grew up in Western Montana in a community about the size of Soap Lake. An honors graduate of Texas State University, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Brandee, and their three dogs, Draco, Pepper and Cinnamon. He has one son, William. During his free time, he enjoys photography, video games, reading and working on the house he and his wife bought in Ephrata. He is passionate about the First Amendment and educating communities. | January 21, 2023 3:40 PM
SOAP LAKE – During Wednesday’s regular Soap Lake City Council meeting, council members took up multiple topics related to development in and around the city, including the annexation of a dozen 50-foot by 100-foot lots and an updated plan for the Purple Sage development.
City Planner and former Mayor Alex Kovach said the new development plan for Purple Sage will set up a condominium development rather than an RV park. It will be comprised of double-wide manufactured homes with 236 units in the subdivision.
Soap Lake Police Chief and Interim City Administrator Ryan Cox advised the council that only brand new manufactured homes can be brought into the city, so this will not bring in outdated structures that aren’t up to current codes.
The city also discussed the annexation of the dozen units and what that process would involve. The lots in question are located about one and a half blocks west of Maple Street, Kovach said. If annexed, the lots would be zoned for residential use.
In order to annex the land or approve the updated development plan, the city would need to address whether it has the infrastructure to support those properties. That would include water and sewer capacity to support the added population.
R. Hans “Rob” Miller may be reached at [email protected].
Correction: The day of the meeting and Ryan Cox's title have been corrected above.
ARTICLES BY R. HANS MILLER
Feb. 10 initial election results
EPHRATA — Voters were asked to approve or reject educational programs and operations levy requests from a number of Grant and Adams county school districts in Tuesday’s special election. Voters in the Ephrata School District and East Adams Rural Healthcare decided the fate of specific proposals. Unofficial results released Tuesday night are listed below with additional votes coming in via mail over the next few days. Mailed-in ballots must have been postmarked by Feb. 10, 2026 to be counted.
COLUMN: It’s amazing what you can learn ...
Four years ago, almost to the day, my wife and I closed on the first home either of us have owned, a stunningly Pepto-pink house in Ephrata with what we thought of at the time as “character.” It turns out, that character is really, in many ways, a lot of work. Work I hadn’t done much of since helping my dad out when I was a kid a few decades ago. Still though, all of the work I had to relearn or learn – thank goodness for the folks at Ace, Lowe’s and experts on YouTube – has been incredibly rewarding.
Take a wander, see a wonder
MOSES LAKE — Living in Central Washington has a lot of perks, and one of those is the opportunity to see a variety of wildlife.