In 2021, Tyler and Wendy Chambers bought 66 acres for their dream home in Washington; 5 years later, they still haven’t built it after nearly $300,000 in costs and a 44-acre dispute

What began as a plan to build a family home on 66 acres in Washington turned into a years-long dispute over excavation, environmental studies and land-use requirements for Tyler Chambers and his wife, Wendy.

Chambers says the process eventually cost his family nearly $300,000 and resulted in a requirement to place 44.2 acres of the property under a permanent deed restriction.

As per the Washington State Department of Ecology's record, the property became the subject of a Chelan County SEPA process involving code-enforcement violations tied to excavation and grading. The record identifies Chelan County as the lead agency and Tyler Chambers as the applicant.

Tyler Chambers bought 66 acres for a family home

Chambers, 59, and his wife bought three existing tax parcels totaling 66 acres in rural Chelan County, Washington, in 2021. The property is outside Wenatchee near the end of No. 1 Canyon Road, as per an AGweb report. It already had power, PUD water and paved roads, with numerous homes nearby. The property was zoned residential.

Chambers grew up in a farming family around orchards and wheat fields. He later became a small-business owner specializing in garage doors but wanted to return to his agricultural roots.

His plans included building a home and pole barn, planting a few acres of orchard and potentially allowing his children and grandchildren to build on the property because it consisted of three tax parcels.

The Washington property project initially moved forward

According to Chambers, he spent about 30 days evaluating the property before moving ahead. He says he visited the county and spoke with planners, while a surveyor and engineer inspected the land. In fall 2021, Chambers says Chelan County Community Development Director Jim Brown told him he could build and did not require a habitat or mitigation plan at that time, as per the AGweb report.

Chambers also says he met with the PUD and paid for a geologist's hazard assessment, soil testing and compaction work, a survey, engineering checks and a PERC test. He then began moving dirt to prepare the site.

A neighbor’s complaint changed the course of the project

Chambers says neighbor Bob Bugert approached him and asked what he was doing and whether he had a permit.

According to Chambers' account, he later learned that Bugert was a Chelan County commissioner at the time and a former director of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust.

Several neighbors subsequently complained to the county's code-compliance office about the earthmoving.

Chambers says a county enforcement official inspected the property and gave him a thumbs-up.

On October 5, 2021, Chelan County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Marcus Foster responded that the county had investigated a complaint and found it unfounded, as per the AGweb report. The county said no further action would be taken unless circumstances changed.

A stop-work order halted the construction plans

Jim Brown resigned in December 2021, and Deanna Walter replaced him as Chelan County Community Development director in March 2022. Several months later, Chambers says, a stop-work order was issued.

He immediately appealed through his attorney, Aaron Harris of Ogden Murphy Wallace, but says Chelan County Community Development did not accept the appeal. Chambers says the county subsequently requested additional reports and studies.

Environmental and geotechnical studies added to the costs

According to Chambers, the studies included work involving stormwater, spotted owls, golden eagles, deer, shrubsteppe, geotechnical conditions and mitigation.

Munson Engineers of Wenatchee prepared a report intended to address whether the property qualified as a geologically hazardous area. Chambers says the report was updated in 2023 and 2024 and discussed erosion.

He also says a geotechnical specialist drove about 2.5 hours from Seattle to inspect the property, which Chambers questioned given that his goal was to build a house.

Chambers says he also had to obtain a study addressing whether a nearby drainage ditch was fish-bearing.

The official Washington Department of Ecology record shows that a SEPA checklist, habitat mitigation management plan, and geologically hazardous site assessment were submitted in connection with code-enforcement violations involving excavation and grading on the three parcels.

The 44.2-acre deed restriction became a central dispute

Chambers eventually hired local architect Eric Soehren of SD+D. He says Chelan County Community Development would not review his plans and instead directed him to complete a State Environmental Policy Act, or SEPA, form. Chambers says he completed the SEPA paperwork and that it went through the Department of Ecology process.

According to Chambers' account, the mitigation process then resulted in a requirement to set aside 44.2 acres, about two-thirds of his three parcels, under a permanent deed restriction, as per the AGweb report.

Chambers says the requirement amounted to placing almost 44 acres of his property under a deed restriction. He later hired Glen Grette of Grette Associates, now Farallon Consulting. Grette testified at a hearing that mitigation was never intended to become a deed restriction.

The official records independently establish the SEPA and mitigation proceedings, but they do not, in the records reviewed, independently confirm Chambers' characterization of the 44.2-acre deed restriction. The 44.2-acre figure is therefore presented as Chambers' account.

Chambers says the regulatory process cost nearly $300,000

Chambers says he and Wendy spent almost $300,000 on regulatory requirements and related studies. The costs, according to his account, included environmental, geotechnical and engineering work conducted during the dispute.

Jeff Hallman of AGENT509, the broker who listed the acreage, says individual studies could cost $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000.

Hallman has 22 years of experience as a licensed broker in Washington and a background in tree-fruit agriculture and rural land.

Chambers questions how nearby properties were treated

Chambers says he was frustrated because neighboring homes did not face what he describes as a similar wildlife habitat easement.

He also says the dispute has created ongoing financial pressure because he continues to pay about $3,000 a month on a construction loan while he remains unable to proceed with the project as planned.

Chambers says the situation has caused emotional and financial stress for him and his wife.

Hallman compares the property with a Microsoft data center

Hallman also compares Chambers' project with a Microsoft data center located about 10 miles away.

According to Hallman's account, Microsoft moved about 500,000 cubic yards of dirt, while the amount associated with Chambers' project was estimated at about 1,000 cubic yards by Chelan County Community Development, as per the AGweb report.

According to the report, the 1,000-cubic-yard figure was a county estimate rather than a measurement taken by the department.

Hallman's comparison reflects his criticism of the process. The supplied material does not provide details about the regulatory requirements imposed on the Microsoft project, so no broader comparison is made here.

Chelan County records show the dispute continued

Chelan County's official records show that Chambers appealed a SEPA determination involving environmental mitigation associated with code-enforcement violations.

A February 2025 Chelan County Hearing Examiner agenda identifies the appeal as concerning the SEPA determination issued to Chambers on October 3, 2024. It describes the matter as environmental mitigation associated with code-enforcement violations involving excavation and grading that exceeded SEPA exemption thresholds and critical areas.

Chambers says he still plans to build

For Chambers, the original goal remains unchanged: he says he intends to build his home on the 66-acre property.

What began as a plan to return to the agricultural environment he grew up around has instead become a prolonged dispute involving excavation, environmental reviews, mitigation requirements, construction costs and the future use of the land.

The official records establish the county's SEPA and code-enforcement proceedings. The claims about the nearly $300,000 cost and the 44.2-acre permanent deed restriction remain attributed to Chambers because those specific figures and characterizations were not independently established in the public records reviewed for this report.