“There is no future in neighbors fighting neighbors.”
It’s with a sad and resigned feeling that I quote these words from my mentor, Pat Pomeroy, who with her husband Wes, raised four daughters, was Broker-Owner of Coldwell Banker Orcas Island, and a major contributor to United Way of San Juan Islands.
I say this on the eve of the joint County Council/Planning Commission meeting for a public hearing on the Fish and Wildlife portion of the Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO), which will take place in Friday Harbor on Friday, May 18 at 8:45 a.m. until 2 p.m. The hearing will be videoconferenced at the Orcas Library (where the public can comment) and it can also be viewed at https://sanjuanco.com/council/video.aspx
This hearing will deal with the “buffer” issue protecting wetlands, the bone of contention for many who are dead set against the CAO update. It’s important to keep in mind two factors:
1) Regulations proposed only apply to new construction
2) The county is taking a “customized” approach to buffers, where individual cases can be considered.
There has been much discussion of the use of “best available science,” and what exactly that means. Deep in our hearts we know that fish and wildlife need conservation from humankind’s two great failings: pollution and over-development.
We also know that part of our local, islands’ character is independence and personal expression – I’ll bet you can count on one hand the communities that have a cow for a Mayor or raised over $18 million to save a mountain, or that lost official transport when a ferry captain showed his house to his girlfriend.
Now, regarding the CAO update, we see that expression in cynical bumper stickers and heated public comment; while unpleasant, they remind us that while some people feel the powers that be are not listening, others have chosen to “drop out” with a bitter view of government and their neighbors.
Still others say we should just forget the whole thing. But most of us just want to finish the project of updating the CAO and move on to more important business in living the good life of natural beauty and personal freedom. The other over-arching characteristic of our island communities is our respect, care and compassion for our neighbors.
As we grow, so grows government, because government is us – the toad worker (I meant ROAD worker!), the records keeper, the tax collector, the land use planner, the teacher, the fire and rescue workers, the water and other utilities’ workers, and all the rest of us who pay income, retail, and business taxes.
And government changes lives from what we’re used to. Now kids not only must be seat-belted in cars, but they must have special seats – “In my day” babies sat on mom’s or siblings’ laps and kids scrambled like kittens all around the vehicle. But today, there are fewer deaths and injuries, thanks to seat belts.
It doesn’t help local policy- and rule-makers’ case when the implementation of their decisions is biased or ill-informed. That gets to the question of leadership and motivation.
Enforcement is dictated by complaints in our county: them’s the rules. Permitting can be slow and random. There will always be exceptions and mistakes.
And no good deed goes unpunished. No great idea is not dogged by nay-sayers. It takes great personal strength to remain true to one’s vision when criticisms become personal, heated and defensive. It also takes great personal strength to persist reasonably when power to enforce becomes the controlling rationale, and a reasonable exception is called for.
And in governance, there is a bottom line, not based on money, but on principle and vision. A leader, a “decider,” will make some unpopular decisions for the good of all in consideration of the vision.
The CAO update process has taken vast amounts of county government time, effort and money. In the end, enforcement will depend on the ability of neighbors to work with neighbors before taking their complaints to an official level, even more than on protection of nature or the right of personal expression.
And for that, we are inordinately fortunate. As the CAO update process drags on, we are forgetting the way to work together, and instead becoming entrenched in our “sides.”
It is time to move on, make some decisions about this long-delayed process, and turn to other issues in our quest for “the good life.”
In this county, we are so incredibly fortunate to have vast personal freedoms and profound natural resources. We all want to protect and enjoy that. While some enjoy a good debate, others just want to putter, plan and protect as a private citizen. Both are good motivations, but when the debate delays decision, it is time to move on.
Moving on may mean the next step will be to employ the lawyers and judges to fight the CAO update in the courts, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could just come to case-by-case consensus?
We are the government, and we can only achieve that vision if we also remember that we are still neighbors, and not just faces in the crowd.
Margie Doyle
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Nice perspective, Margie.
Your first line says it all. I think alot of the “power” people have lost the definition of compromise, decisions effect all of us not just one side or the other. Very nicely stated, Margie.
well and eloquently said!!! It’s been 20 years of this squabbling, and we still aren’t GMA compliant. Current regulations are NOT protecting our Critical Areas – Eastsound is a clear example of that – even before being GMA compliant, being a UGA has cost us the environmental health of our critical aquifer.
Let’s get on with it, and do our best to educate ourselves and each other on what CAs are, why they are important and necessary, and what are best methods for taking care of them, so that less enforcement is unnecessary. Fact is, there will always be those who know the laws and continue to harm critical areas anyway- for sheer profit. We’ll always have a few repeat offenders, so we need some way to protect and enforce.