— by Matthew Gilbert Orcas Issues reporter —

A quorum was present for the Planning Commission’s (PC) latest meeting, a marathon session that waded deeper into the Comp Plan (CP) while addressing a Friday Harbor re-designation, the latest transportation plan for the County, and an update on the recently released Land Capacity Analysis (LCA).

Following a short presentation by Department of Community Development (DCD) Director Erika Shook, during which she reiterated that the DCD is still digging up data on vacation rentals (as requested at last month’s meeting), the commission heard from owners and representatives of Cornelius Holdings/Browne’s Home Center (the town’s second biggest employer) on a request to re-designate an adjacent parcel from Rural General Use to Friday Harbor Unincorporated Urban Growth Area. County staff recommended “approval with conditions,” subsequent discussion and public comment flagged a number of other issues, most notably a buffer of trees in a possible impact zone, and the PC suggested adding a provision to consider public comment regarding the fate of said trees. (For details on the request, see the 227-page staff report.)

County’s Economic Plan Nears Conclusion

The latest edition of the CP’s Economic Development Element was up next, and after realizing that a line-by-line review of the 57-page document would take the better part of a day, the commissioners signed off after a cursory review with some suggested changes. Two in particular stood out: A reference to the County as an “experience economy” – one “driven by businesses which orchestrate memorable events for their customers” – was flagged as sounding too artificial and deleted. In the Economic Vision section, it was written that “Economic development must also sustain and strengthen the county’s natural assets. These assets do not vote but do provide, without charge, significant environmental benefits and services that residents, visitors, and businesses depend upon.” It was pointed out that the preservation of natural assets takes potentially developable land off the market, and so in that sense the phrase “without charge” was stricken.

Those two points alone suggest the tumult that could be released upon a closer analysis of the document. That said, it’s thorough and well-thought-out and anyone interested in evaluating and even influencing what helps drive economic policy-making in the County should pay close attention. Waiting for the official public hearing to respond will most certainly be too late to have any kind of substantive impact. The current version is available here; an update is soon to come. [Note: The word “tourism” was mentioned 72 times. As reported previously, a survey of resident and business attitudes about tourism, bookending last year’s study of tourists, will be released in the Fall, followed (hopefully) by a Tourism Plan.]

Public Works Will Be Busy

The highlight of the meeting, given its more immediately tangible impacts, was a presentation by engineer Colin Huntemer of the County’s Six Year (2020 – 2025) Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). For the record, state regulations require that, every six years, participating counties “adopt a TIP that is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan after a public hearing and before the County Road budget is adopted. The Comprehensive Plan recommends that the TIP be presented to the Planning Commission for review and recommendation.” This was that moment.

What stood out was both the brevity of the plan – 29 pages – and what is already on the books. There are 25 projects listed, just over half with secured funding and the rest “pending funding.” According to Huntemer, no new projects will be added other than what are called “Complete Streets” projects, defined by Smart Growth America as “designed to balance safety and convenience for everyone using the road.” Two projects have been crossed off the list: Orcas Rd. Improvement and West Beach Rd. Culvert Replacement.

Of interest to Orcas Islanders are the following (each one with a dedicated “Draft” page in the Plan, available here):

  • Upper Deer Harbor Rd. (see No. 02 in the Plan) – road extension, more parking spaces
  • Prune Alley Road Improvements (No. 04) – meet Eastsound Street Standards (ESS) with design considerations that include parking, lighting, landscaping, pedestrian and accessibility accommodations
  • A” Street Improvements (No. 07) – the same as Prune Alley along with “improvements to the intersection with North Beach Rd and a traffic circle”
  • Haven Rd. Pedestrian Improvements (No. 08) – to meet Madrona Point Street Standards
  • Obstruction Pass Intersection (No. 13) – safety improvements
  • Orcas Landing Marine Facility (No. 15) – pedestrian access and more parking options
  • West Sound Marine Facility (No. 17) – improvements to the public dock including the walkway, new floats and piles
  • Enchanted Forest Road Trail (No. 20) – improve and complete the existing trail network
  • Lover’s Lane Trail (No. 21) – see Enchanted Forest above, although the changes look to be more significant
  • Crescent Beach Rd. Trail (No. 22) – from Madrona Street to the Land Bank’s eastern parking lot (a Complete Streets project)
  • Orcas Rd. “Multimodal” Improvements (No. 24) – from Myer’s Street to the Main Street intersection, focusing on bicycle and pedestrian safety (a Complete Streets project)

Most of the projects have been cleared to begin this year and next, the biggest by far being Prune Alley. Huntemer emphasized that final details such as shoulder designs and the style of “dark sky” overhead lighting are still being worked out – curbs and sidewalks will likely be concrete since their maintenance costs are lower.

PC Chair Tim Blanchard cautioned Public Works to include accurate visual representations “in time for public comment and to avoid what happened to Orcas Rd.” Huntemer acknowledged the value of such renditions but noted “we have limited resources. We are trying to balance what we have with what we’ve been asked to do. It’s the PC’s job to bring unaddressed issues to the attention of the County Commissioners.”

The public hearing on the County’s TIP will be held on September 20, but by then it will likely be too late to have any impact. So if you have something to say, now’s the time.

While all of these projects have reasonable arguments behind them (the EPRC has signed off on those in the UGA), when taken as a whole, the conclusion one draws is that Eastsound (and, arguably, Orcas in general) continues on a path toward resort urbanization – thanks in part to the Growth Management Act as well as the “one thing leads to another” syndrome. The preservation of “rural character,” which in theory remains a core tenet of the County’s Vision Statement, becomes ever more challenging. It’s a delicate balance to be sure, but there seems to be a pattern to recent decision-making and it isn’t quite clear what the greater population really wants. When you consider the possible ambitions of Yellow Brick Road WA LLC, Oprah and her business partner’s development company that owns property in the heart of town, a fork in the road of Orcas Island’s future seems unavoidable.

Updates on Land Capacity / Developable Lands

As the clock ticked toward lunch (the meeting started at 8:30), the last item on the agenda was a staff update on the Land Capacity Analysis (LCA) methodology and Gross Developable Land Inventory (GDLI). The overall intent was to address approximately two dozen public comments regarding individual parcels and a lengthier analysis by the Eastsound Planning Review Committee (EPRC). More specifically (and not withstanding some methodical errors when categorizing certain parcels), staff was looking for guidance on three specific issues:

 How to treat single-family residences (SFR) located in commercial and industrial areas.

 The treatment of conservation easements.

 Whether parking lots should be considered re-developable.

I will refer readers to the actual 119-page document for details since the meeting length exceeded my availability. Also visit the Planning Commission website for agendas, minutes, and recorded video of meetings.

The Planning Commission meets on the third Friday of every month; the next one takes place on September 20.

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