7647 US Route 101, South Bend, Washington 98586, United States

This 3.41-acre vacant parcel is located in Pacific County, Washington, owned by [owner name withheld], a company with a mailing address in Honolulu, Hawaii. The parcel sits directly on Willapa Bay, a large tidal estuary on the southwest Washington coast, and US Highway 101 runs about 50 ft from its southern boundary. The land is undeveloped, and the two things that most define it are its position on the bay and the degree to which water, wetlands, and poor soils constrain what can be done with it.

The most consequential finding for a buyer is how much of this parcel is physically occupied by or immediately adjacent to Willapa Bay itself. The hydrography data shows the bay intersecting the parcel diagonally through its middle, covering approximately 46% of the total area as open estuary water. A separate federal wetlands mapping layer shows an additional 40.6% of the parcel classified as regularly flooded intertidal estuarine wetland — the kind dominated by broad-leaved deciduous plants that flood with the tides. These two layers do not simply overlap: together they indicate that the great majority of this parcel is either open bay water or tidal wetland. The practical upland, buildable area is very small, and its exact extent would need to be staked by a surveyor on the ground.

The wetland designation carries a significant regulatory consequence: the Army Corps of Engineers has likely jurisdiction under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act over any filling, grading, or construction that disturbs these areas. Getting a federal permit to develop within them is a substantial undertaking — not impossible, but time-consuming and uncertain. Pacific County adds its own layer through its Critical Areas and Resource Lands (CARL) review process, which is required before the county will issue any building, grading, filling, or septic permit. Shoreline regulations under the county's Shoreline Master Program almost certainly also apply, given the bay frontage. The combination of federal wetlands jurisdiction, state shoreline rules, and county critical-areas review means that any development plan here would face multiple regulatory hurdles before a single permit is issued.

The soils reinforce this picture. Roughly 82% of the parcel is Ocosta silty clay loam, a hydric soil — meaning it formed under saturated, wetland conditions. It receives the lowest possible rating for building foundations and for installing a septic system (one star out of four), and it drains very poorly. A small corner in the southwest (about 9% of the parcel) is Willapa silt loam on slopes of 8 to 30%, which is somewhat better for agriculture but also carries a one-star rating for building and septic. Neither soil type supports conventional on-site septic installation, which is a critical obstacle for any residential development on an otherwise unserved rural parcel.

Access adds another complication. No road touches the parcel boundary. US Highway 101 is approximately 50 ft to the south, but without legal road frontage a recorded easement or other access agreement would be required before the county would issue permits. The utilities picture is equally stark: no electric transmission lines or substations were found within 3.1 miles. This does not mean power is unavailable — local distribution lines along Highway 101 may be close — but the transmission-level data cannot confirm it, and a buyer should verify local power availability directly with the utility serving this area before assuming it.

Aerial imagery captured between 2011 and 2019 shows the parcel was stably wooded through 2017, with a dense conifer and broadleaf canopy covering the southern portion and open low vegetation in the north. By 2019, a notable area of bare or disturbed soil appeared in the north-central to northwest area, consistent with clearing or grading activity. No new structures were confirmed, and the most recent imagery in the dataset is from 2019, so the current state of that cleared area is not established by this analysis.

The assessor values the parcel at $5,000, which aligns closely with the $4,000 purchase price paid when [owner name withheld] acquired it in January 2025. Taxes run approximately $63 to $78 per year and have been paid current through 2026. The low valuation and purchase price reflect the parcel's constrained condition: the bay-fronting location carries scenic and ecological value, but the regulatory and physical limits on development keep the economic value modest. Pacific County is also in the middle of updating its Comprehensive Plan, due in 2027, which could alter development rules and allowable uses for parcels like this one.

Flood zone data could not be retrieved for this analysis. Given the parcel's position on a tidal estuary, it is very likely that at least part of the parcel falls within a FEMA-designated high-risk flood zone, which would require flood insurance for any financed structure. A buyer should pull the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map for this location before proceeding. Protected-species data also could not be retrieved; Willapa Bay is a nationally significant estuary and known habitat for multiple sensitive species, so buyers should consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before any ground disturbance.

The strengths here are real but narrow. The parcel has genuine Willapa Bay waterfront — a rare and scenic asset in a region with strong vacation-home demand. Taxes are very low, carrying costs are minimal, and there are no environmental contamination concerns within the search area. The weaknesses are substantial: the majority of the parcel is water or tidal wetland subject to federal jurisdiction; the soils cannot support conventional building or septic; there is no legal road frontage; electric utility availability is unconfirmed; and multiple layers of regulation — federal, state, and county — would govern any development attempt. Flood risk is unknown because the flood data could not be retrieved, and protected-species habitat was not checked. Any buyer considering development should budget for a wetlands delineation survey, a geotechnical assessment, regulatory pre-application meetings with the Army Corps and Pacific County, and a title review to confirm legal access before committing to a development plan.