County Councilmen Knapp, Fralick Paint Grim Picture to Eastsound Planning Review Committee

Updated March 6 at 6:45 p.m.

“It seems like the validity of the EPRC is at stake… it comes down to a continuity issue.” Clyde Duke at March EPRC meeting

At the monthly Eastsound Planning Review Committee (EPRC) meeting on March 4, County Council members Gene Knapp and Richard Fralick reviewed the County Council’s 2010 priorities: chief among them was the dwindling county general budget, which translates into less county staff time for the priorities EPRC has set.

Already several EPRC projects are stopped at the county door: among them engineering time for the Streetscape Plan, near finalization since 2008; and implementation of Orcas Island signage.

The two Orcas Council Members said that the County Council had recently agreed that their three top priorities for 2010 were:

• The County Budget, still projected to be in the hole even after the property tax increase voted in last November;
• The Crtical Areas Ordinance updates for the uplands and shoreline areas;
• Solid waste transfer, with operations running at a deficit in the face of mandatory improvements and protections. “An increase in tipping [disposal[ fees seems a likely immediate action,” said Knapp, and Fralick added that the matter has to be dealt with this year.

In discussing what the county budget means for the EPRC, Fralick said, “The difficulty is that you’re doing things that require the county to come forward with money or staff time, and in today’s climate it’s just not going to happen.”

EPRC member Patty Miller questioned if it was time to consider the incorporation of Orcas Island.  “I have never been a advocate for it but if we continue to struggle to get any County resources dedicated to Eastsound then it triggers the question for me,” she added.

Fralick suggested that the EPRC may want to delineate where its projects are stalled at the county, and report to the County Council regularly, reviewing its priorities.

Fralick told the EPRC that one-third of the operational costs for the county transfer stations is transportation off-island.

He said the Council hopes the county can “do a good job with the uplands portion of the CAO and generate a model that makes sense to citizens” that will make the shoreline portion of the CAO update more acceptable.

Fralick said he didn’t understand the [intlink id=”country-corner-saga-continues-as-council-hears-recommendations-from-planners-public-eprc” type=”post”]EPRC’s position regarding the removal of the proposed Country Corner LAMIRD[/intlink] from the Eastsound Sub-area Plan, as proposed by County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord.

Knapp said at the EPRC meeting that he did understand each side’s argument, but hasn’t come to a conclusion about it.

The removal of the 6 lots of the proposed commercial LAMIRD from the long-standing Sub-area Plan is supported by Gaylord’s office; EPRC members, while in support of establishing the LAMIRD, have expressed their opposition to removal of the proposed LAMIRD from the Sub-area Plan, which extends beyond the Eastsound Urban Growth Area (UGA).

Gaylord has said that the removal of the Country Corner Commercial LAMIRD would be consistent with how other “Activity Centers” on the island, such as Orcas Village and Deer Harbor, have been handled; it would also move towards making the Eastsound Sub-area boundaries consistent with the Eastsound UGA boundaries.

Those objecting to Gaylord’s position have stated that the Eastsound Sub-area Plan boundaries were established by Orcas Islanders intent on maintaining the rural character of the island. They also argue that, by removing the 6 Country Corner lots from the Sub-area, property that is a “logical” area for  commercial expansion for the Eastsound  “municipal” area will be reduced.

At the March 4 EPRC meeting, Clyde Duke commented that it “seems like the validity of the EPRC is at stake… it comes down to a continuity issue.”

Fralick replied, “I want a cogent argument that says, ‘We want to maintain the LAMIRD and the Sub-area Plan for the following reasons…..’”

The matter will come up before the County Council for deliberation next Tuesday, March 9 at 10:45 a.m. in Friday Harbor; the only public testimony accepted will be in writing.

Byways, Streetscape Plan, Stormwater, Housing

The EPRC also discussed progress on the San Juan Islands Scenic Byways Corridor Management plan as a possible way to fund signage for Eastsound and island trails.

Miller asked about .09 funds allocation to the Public Works department – designated for infrastructure projects — and if such funds could be used for a parking lot or the sidewalks and engineering for the Eastsound Streetscape Plan.

Miller will follow up with Jon Shannon, Public Works Director, and County Administrator Pete Rose to determine the current status of the Streetscape Plan and what is required for its completion. EPRC chair Gulliver Rankin will contact Greg Bronn, who previously did engineering work on the Streetscape project.

Miler announced that there will be a workshop on Wednesday, March 10 in Friday Harbor where the County’s Stormwater Advisory Committee will draft a “comprehensive problem statement” viewed from diverse perspectives. “The problem definition with the broader community is unclear,” Miller said.

She added that there is a Marine Resource Committee grant to study the Eastsound swale – to implement a Local Improvement District (LID) and evaluate the effectiveness of what is already in place, such as the stormwater swale in front of Island Market).

Fred Klein said that he would put together a document of the recently upheld County Housing Needs Assessment and its implications for Eastsound. Fralick commented that, in his experience, “ “the numbers and policies being talked about are based on a policy of what the County Planning and Development Department wanted to happen; the planning document used says half of Orcas Island growth will take place in Eastsound. The projection is driven by the policy, but the policy is not driven by reality.”

Klein said, “I was thinking of extrapolating data form the county-adopted plan and seeing what the implications are for Eastsound. Part of the discussion may be that county data is not reliable or needs to be adjusted.”

Fralick and Knapp, along with County Administrator Pete Rose and County Auditor Milene Henley, will discuss the county budget, the solid waste business model and the pending critical areas ordinance uplands review at a Town Hall scheduled for Eastsound next Thursday, March 11 at the Eastsound Fire Hall from 4  to 5:45 p.m.