— from the Plan Ahead San Juans Steering Committee, updated Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. —
Do you love living in the San Juans and want to ensure your vision is honored? Please join us in a discussion about the San Juan County Comprehensive Plan Update with County Council member Rick Hughes. Friday, February 2nd, 2018 @ 4:30pm at the Orcas School Cafeteria
Here are some reference materials:
- In case you missed it, here is the email announcing the meeting, with agenda, purpose and background: https://mailchi.mp/
892c6de063e1/comp-plan-update- conversation-w-rick-hughes - Website covering the full range of issues related to the update: www.KeepSanJuansWild.org
- San Juan County Vision Statement: https://www.doebay.net/
cpupdate/CPVisionStatement.pdf - San Juan County Comprehensive Plan: https://www.sanjuanco.com/510/
Comprehensive-Plan - Let your voice be heard! Write a letter to the County Council. Here are samples to help you get started: https://doebay.net/sunshine/
sjccpemail.html - Can’t join us in person? We’re happy to conference you in! Call +1 712-832-8330 then dial Access code: 290 3745
We have arranged to meet with Rick to hear his perspective on the above topics and determine how we can best work with the county to protect our community’s vision far into the future. This is intended to be a thoughtful, amicable, and informative discussion.
We hope that you will join us and bring your unique point of view to the table!
Here are a few of the key topics for our discussion with Rick:
+ Our request to expand the scope of the Land Use Analysis into that of a Full Build-out Analysis. (This data will help us determine how our islands would look if/when every parcel is developed to its potential as defined by the existing density map).
+ Suggestions for how we would like the county to engage the community through education and conversations on all aspects of the Comp Plan Update.
+ How we can inspire the county to provide the public with easy to understand explanations of comp plan data, designed for the layperson and not simply for professional planners and lawyers.
+ For clarity regarding the term “population.” Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA), under which this Comp Plan update is being guided, is limited to recognizing only the full-time permanent resident population. However, as you know, in addition to full-time residents, there are two other population groups that our county deals with: part-time property owners and visitors. These additional population groups impact us significantly but are not legally part of the GMA Comp Plan update process.
+ + + We are asking the County Council to intentionally pause the existing update schedule to allow time for the following …
1. Construct a comprehensive build-out analysis in clear, simple and easily understood language. Another term for this is a “truth in planning” statement.
2. Distribute this analysis through many channels so that all residents know it exists and have time to digest it.
3. Develop a comprehensive, thorough and action-oriented community conversation process that discusses the implications of the build out analysis and resolves any possible issues of inconsistency with the county’s Vision Statement, GMA, and essential public resources (water, transportation, etc.).
4. Ensure that the results of the community conversation process are codified into the county’s legal framework.
The group discussion begins at 4:30pm.
Our meeting with Rick will be from 5:30 – 6:30pm.
Please join us!
Will we have the first hour where it is just citizens and no politicians or bureaucrats in the room trying to run the discussion? It seems it’s been years since we had any real egalitarian “town hall” type meetings where we then take our concerns to the politicians and planners. I’m all for bringing that back!
For those who say the comp plan review is not all about Eastsound, I beg to differ as far as how much say UGA residents should have, and here’s why:
1) if 54% of the year round population is required by mandate to live here, shouldn’t this same 54% have 54% of the say? We’ve had virtually none.
2) all the infrastructure of the islands are in the UGA. Nobody wants bulk fuel storage tanks in THEIR back yard or the polluting businesses that deforest a place but I think some of the responsibility and “ownership” of that should be shared. Why should UGAs take a hit for the entire county?
3) UGAs now have the highest “prime” real estate costs so what workers can afford housing here?
4) a “long term” renter means someone who stays here for 31+ days per YEAR. this needs fixing immediately.
5) Almost every person who lives in these islands uses our UGAs: they shop at our stores, fuel their cars, use our services – why would they not want to think of these towns as “theirs” and help us find a fair an equitable balance and protection of sensitive areas environmentally?
5) People so concerned about marine life and nearshore life, please take note: Eastsound especially has more shoreline than any other area in our islands that are developed. Why would we not double-down to protect these and the wetlands that feed them?
I mean to include Friday Harbor and Lopez UGA concerned residents in this discussion – by all means! (I live in Eastsound; sorry for the omissions)