(emailed March 7, 2025)

We hope that 2025 has been treating you well so far! We have a few items that we would like to share pertaining to CBC’s efforts to preserve open space land on the Chelan Butte for public use.

The first might seem like bad news, but it may turn out to be helpful in moving our efforts forward. Last month, the potential developer (Raja Venugopal) submitted three building permit applications for three lots owned by Golden Gate Ventures (GGV). Mr. Venugopal has not exercised his option to purchase the nearly 900 acres owned by GGV, so GGV is still the named owner on the applications.

This move has been anticipated by CBC for over a year and a half, so we’re glad that it is out in the open. The primary issue is that the building permit applications rely on the use of water wells and septic systems for each proposed dwelling unit. Mr. Venugopal’s attorney submitted a letter with the applications attempting to justify why these use of these “interim” systems should be allowed.

However, City code clearly does not allow the use of water wells and septic systems for the type of development proposed or for lots with the zoning that is applicable to the GGV properties. The code instead requires that such houses connect to the City’s municipal water and sewer systems. CBC summarized the applicable City code in a written document in August of 2023 and confirmed our reading of the code with City Public Works staff at the time.

So, we have again been in communication with the City and have argued against the specific points brought up by Mr. Venugopal’s attorney. We do not believe that his arguments have any merit and also have our attorney reviewing it as well. The City must respond to Mr. Venugopal and GGV within the next couple of weeks, so we will be monitoring that.

If the City enforces its code and denies the building permit applications, Mr. Venugopal will have to decide what direction to move next. In the past, he has said that he wants to “do something good for the community”. We would suggest that helping preserve open space land on the Chelan Butte would be the absolute best thing he could do for the community and continue to encourage Mr. Venugopal to work toward that goal. We are always open to further discussion with him.

Another item that we wanted to share is that on March 4th the Chelan city council approved the retention of $500,000 in the Capital Improvement Plan for an eventual purchase of open space land on the Chelan Butte. This money was first approved in late 2022 and would have expired if the city council had not specifically renewed it for another two years. This shows the continued dedication of the City to preserve the Butte. We are very grateful for the council’s unanimous support of this renewal. During council discussion, the popularity of this effort with the community was noted several times.

Finally, the CBC board met with new District 3 Chelan County Commissioner Brad Hawkins in early February to discuss a few items, including the preservation of Chelan Butte. Mr. Hawkins is an enthusiastic supporter of acquiring open space land on the Butte. Among other things, we discussed potential ownership structures to build on the discussion we had with Chelan city representatives in December of last year. He had some very helpful ideas on how this could work, which we are now pursuing.

I’ll leave it here for now, but please do not hesitate to reach out to us by responding to this email if you have any questions or comments. Note that previous Chelan Butte Update emails can be found on our website. Thanks as always for your interest in, and support for, this important endeavor.

Brian Patterson
Chelan Basin Conservancy President

on behalf of the CBC board:

Lisa Garvich – Vice President
Tony Crosetto – Treasurer
Debra Patterson – Secretary
Mike Cochran