||| FROM STEVE BERNHEIM, theORCASONIAN REPORTER |||
The San Juan County Council identified county-wide and island-by-island caps on new vacation rental (VR) permits as regulatory priorities at its Monday, January 25, 2021 meeting. Having enacted earlier this month a moratorium on new VR applications, the Council must now write new VR regulations or see
the moratorium on new applications expire later this year. In addition to caps on new VR permits, Council members said they also want to discuss legal options for reducing non-compliant businesses and eliminating older VR permits that run with the land, and whether to involve homeowner associations in
the application process.
There are about 1,000 outstanding VR permits issued county-wide at the moment, which includes about 400 that are either inactive or noncompliant with current regulations. The list of current VR permits can be accessed here: https://co-sanjuan-wa.smartgovcommunity.com/Public/ReportsView along with
other VR permit-related data. A virtual County Council public hearing on the moratorium is scheduled for February 23, 2021 at 9:15 a.m.
The Council also heard a presentation from the County’s Environmental Resources (ER) Marine Program which primarily administers grant funding for shoreline infrastructure construction and removal, boater education, and salmon recovery efforts. Marine Program staff spoke about underappreciated threats to eelgrass beds from thousands of overnight anchors in popular bays, protecting orca whales through whale watch vessel regulation, moving shoreline roadways on Lopez Island to restore forage fish habitat, removing derelict vessels, and the need to maintain a full time emergency response vessel in the event of cargo vessel collision along our local vessel traffic lanes. Council members heard from ER staff that during some summer nights in 2020 more than 180 boats were at anchor in Blind Bay, Shaw Island south of the Orcas ferry dock and over a hundred in Echo Bay, Sucia Island, all of which puts pressure on wastewater pump outs when used and summer fresh water supplies.
Steve, thank you so very much for reporting on the SJ County Council meetings in detail, and with reference links. Thanks for volunteering your time and work to keep the rest of us informed!