Proposed Black Rock Development Scrapped

The proposed Black Rock Terrace Estate development appears to be dead after the owners of the property, Steve and Tanya Tramp, allowed a 2019 decision by Superior Court Judge Travis Brandt regarding mule deer to lapse.

The 18 house, 14 acre development was originally approved by the Chelan County Hearing Examiner, but that decision was eventually reversed by Brandt. Washington State Assistant Attorney General Noelle Chung, acting on behalf of the Department of Fish & Wildlife, and others argued that the Tramps and their developers had not used the best available science in determining if the site was a critical range for mule deer.

Wenatchee Mayor Frank Kuntz said, "The neighbors, who are well connected and have been in government their entire life, knew how to work the government system against the Tramps and the developers and made it so one state agency made it basically impossible for them to develop. That is something that I personally really struggle with."

Kuntz added that another large development on the western foothills of Wenatchee, this one almost 400 houses and 170 acres, had similar geography and wildlife concerns yet Fish & Wildlife said almost nothing.

In his 2019 ruling reversing the development's approval, Brandt stated that the development could still be approved if the Tramps brought their application into compliance. On Tuesday, Brandt ruled that sufficient time had passed without any action by the Tramps and that his 2019 determination would be effective immediately.

The Tramps have now listed their full 14 acre property at 1701 Skyline Drive for $2.2 million.