Secret Harbor officials have requested the city of Sedro-Woolley revoke its requirements for a conditional use permit and allow its students to relocate to a group home within the city.

City officials received a letter July 22 from Secret Harbor Attorney Stephen H. Roos making the request.

The letter cited the Washington Housing Policy Act which makes it illegal for a city to mandate any additional requirements on residential structures that will be occupied by individuals who are legally handicapped.

In the attorney’s letter, Dr. Robert Fleming, the organization’s consulting psychiatrist, said all the children in Secret Harbor’s program suffer from at least one or more specific psychological and learning disorders that significantly limit their abilities to live in another type of residential setting and can interfere with their ability to learn.

The Sedro-Woolley City Council will hold a discussion and possibly take action regarding Secret Harbor’s request at its Aug. 13 meeting.

Secret Harbor officials filed an appeal to the hearing examiner’s decision July 17. The decision denied Secret Harbor the conditional use permit city officials said were necessary for the organization to bring a group home to Sedro-Woolley.

What’s frustrating about the situation is that the hearing examiner didn’t catch it and the applicant didn’t inform city officials any of their students are handicapped, said City Supervisor and Attorney Eron Berg.

The city has only a couple possible actions it can take, Berg said.

The City Council can either agree with Secret Harbor’s request and acknowledge the hearing examiner’s decision is wrong or they can disagree with Secret Harbor officials and continue with the appeal process, he said.

“Ultimately, the city will have a recommendation to the Council, but I’m not 100 percent sure what that will be as it’s too soon to tell right now,” Berg said.