Ocean Grove is an HOA of 89 homes located on the highest point of the Quimper Peninsula–450 feet above Discovery Bay and with great views of the Olympic Mountains. It is 15 minutes from Port Townsend, Washington–an historical seaport and thriving arts center. Ocean Grove amenities include a 28-acre green belt with maintained hiking trails, a private beach that includes 200 feet of tidelands at Adelma Beach with clams and geoducks, a community garden and an RV storage lot ($150/year).
There is no “Ocean” and no “Grove” but there are lots of evergreen trees and the bay. (The name came from the initial platting of the land by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in 1889. They named it Ocean Grove because they wanted to create a campground and conference center patterned after one in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.)
Their plans never reached fruition and in the early 1960s two developers platted the area with the thought that it would become a place of modest weekend cabins. They were unable to fulfill their commitment to provide water, improved roads and sewage disposal and lost their holdings to the Ocean Grove Trust, which was set up by early purchasers to pursue litigation against the developer.
After obtaining title to all the unsold land–and the developers’ unpaid tax bills–the Trust was able to persuade the PUD to extend water service to the community. This facilitated the sale of lots and the proceeds were used to install a community drainfield to serve the many parcels that could not support an on-site septic system. Owners who connected to the system paid off the PUD bonds. The system is managed by Jefferson County PUD. The septic allocations are fully subscribed.
Subsequently, the Trust sold the remaining lots and the proceeds were transferred to the Ocean Grove Association and the Trust was dissolved. Association annual owner fees are $100 per lot. Interest and dividends from Association investments constitute a large portion of the annual budget.
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