The owners of four chunks of land along Highway 20 in Oak Harbor want to change the Comprehensive Plan to allow different uses on their properties.

In other words, more development might be coming to the land along the busy highway.

The volunteer members of the Comprehensive Plan Task Force will consider the requests and grill the property owners at their meeting tonight, March 9, 6 p.m., at the municipal shop at 1400 NE 16th Avenue. The meeting is open to the public.

Each year, the city considers “sponsored” amendments to the Comp Plan. The property owner or owners pay a fee to guarantee that their proposal will be considered.

Senior Planner Larry Cort said this year all of the sponsored amendment requests happen to be on Highway 20. While all of the proponents may have specific projects in mind, Cort said it is not the job of the task force to consider proposed projects, but the appropriateness of long-term use of land.

Nevertheless, Cort said he expects a lively discussion.

In three of the requests, the proponents want to change the zoning to community commercial. Cort said community commercial allows for a variety of commercial activities, including retail, offices and restaurants.

The four proposal are:

l George Churchill, local realtor, proposed changing the land use designation and zoning of 1.86 acres on the highway near NE Narrows Avenue from residential office to community commercial. The land is the current site of the Terrace Court Mobile Home Park.

Cort said the mobile home park may have to be moved or removed if the land is developed under the current or proposed zoning.

l Chris Skinner, local attorney, proposed changing the land use designation and zoning of six parcels on the northeast corner of the highway and Whidbey Avenue from residential office to community commercial. The land is the current site of the former brew pub, offices and apartments.

Cort said the apartments would have to be removed if the land was developed with a community commercial designation.

l Dick Knight and Joyce Fossek proposed changing the land use designation and zoning of two small parcels on the highway at the southwest corner of SW Eighth Avenue from high-density residential to community commercial. The land is currently the site of two homes.

l Randy and Eric Dykstra proposed changing the land use designation and zoning of 4.31 acres on the highway at Haga Road from low-density residential to high-density residential. There is currently a mobile home park on the site.

You can reach Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 675-6611.